A Lovely Life: A Marauder's Tale
by Lauremir Bennet
Summary: It's the Marauders' final year at Hogwarts. Life and the big, bad real world is just around the corner, waiting for them, and you can bet that wherever they go, trouble will follow. Exams, jobs, duels, family, love, and everything in between!
1. Drowning Himself

**Chapter 1 - Drowning Himself**

"Oh, for the love of all things perverted, open the door, James!" Cassy shouted.

"You're late, Miss Meadowes. Everyone else is already here," he informed her when he opened the door, hair as purposefully rumpled up as ever.

"Wonderful. Now, where is he?" she demanded and looked around the living room expectantly.

"In the bathroom. We think he's trying to drown himself," Remus Lupin grinned from the couch.

"Ah, good." She dropped her things on the floor and marched down the hall to one of the closed doors and began to bang on it. "Sirius, you egomaniacal git! You better haul your arse out of there in about five seconds; otherwise, I'm coming in! Because believe me, I have a very full bladder and I'm not quite sure how much longer it can wait."

Her friends out in the living room began to laugh and she thought she heard a chuckle come from within, but there was no other response.

"Okay, I'm now going to count to five. And you better be out of there, or at least decent by then. If not, I'll... well, let me get back to you about that part, but it shouldn't come to that! One... two..."

There was a splash, a curse, and then a disembodied voice saying, "You know, there is another bathroom in the house."

Sirius Black opened the bathroom door, hair and pajamas dripping wet.

And Cassy pulled him out into the hall, and then ran into the bathroom saying, "Yeah, but none that I like so much as this one!"

He turned to say something angrily in reply, but found he was facing a closed door.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Not fair..."

"He's all right!" James Potter shouted, bounding over to his best friend and nearly smothering him with a bear hug.

"No, mate, he is definitely not okay," Cassy said coming out of the bathroom and staring pointedly at his wet clothes.

"I thought you had to go to the bathroom!" Sirius said accusingly.

"Yeah, but I decided it could wait."

"Merlin's beard, Cassy, why is it that he listens to you when you have to take a piss, but not us?" James demanded.

"No clue, mate," she shrugged. "Feminine wiles?"

Sirius snorted.

Cassy raised an eyebrow. "What's that? Genuine emotion other than depression? Can it be?" She pulled him into a hug of her own before quickly recoiling. "Oh, eww, I forgot; you're wet all over."

"That's because he's too stubborn to take off his clothes before he gets into the bath."

James, Cassy, and Sirius turned as a whole to see Lily Evans standing stiffly at the end of the corridor.

"Hi, Cassy," she said tiredly.

"Lily!" Cassy ran over to her and almost squeezed the life out of her until Lily said, "Cass, you're all wet from hugging the egomaniacal git now."

"You heard me call him that, did you?" The corner of her mouth twitched upward.

"I think people in Madrid heard that remark, Cass," Remus said from somewhere in the crowd that had now gathered in the hall.

"Um, guys, do you think you could move?" Sirius said from the middle of the throng. "I need to get some dry clothes on."

"I can fix that," Cassy noted as her friends moved out of the way. She pulled out her wand, muttering. Then, a large cloud of smoke enveloped Sirius, leaving him very dry, and his hair very poofy and frizzy when it disappeared.

"Thanks," said a disgruntled Sirius Black, looking more Siberian husky than human.

"Sorry," she replied meekly and quickly muttered the counter-charm, returning him to his original state of wetness.

Glumly, he trudged upstairs, leaving a trail of water droplets behind him.

* * *

"It wasn't my fault, I swear!" Cassy said to her friends over dinner.

"Oh, sure, you didn't just decide to turn me into a ball of fluff, it just happened." Sirius moodily jabbed his fork into his food.

"Right!" came her enthusiastic reply. "It's my wand! It's been doing things it's not supposed to in addition to the spells I cast. It's been like that all summer."

"Looks like you'll be needing a new wand then," James said. "Another place to stop on our trip to Diagon Alley."

"Yippee," dead-panned Sirius. "Wait around in a tiny shop while Cassy tries to find a new wand and blows stuff up. Yay."

"Well, you don't have to stay," came the instant rebuttal. "God, what is wrong with you today?"

"What's wrong with me?" he asked incredulously. "What's wrong with you? First you force me out of the bathroom where I was perfectly _fine_—"

"You were not _fine_."

"-under the false pretense that-"

"It wasn't that false..."

"-you had to use the restroom. Then you turn my hair into some Afro thing—"

"Again, not my fault."

"—so I must ask: What's next? Going through my things and ridiculing me to my face?"

"No! God, Sirius, I'm not like that! You're not in your mum's house anymore!"

"Sure feels like it with you around."

Cassy's eyes widened and she glared at him for a good moment before she pushed back away from the table and stomped out.

Lily rose, too. "Sirius Black, it is one thing entirely to act selfish and depressed when you get an abusive letter from your mother, but it is another thing entirely to take your angst out on someone who is just trying to help you!"

Then she, too, walked out.

Remus opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius cut him off.

"I know, I know," he sighed. "She's right."

"Actually, I wanted to know if you were still interested in your piece of steak."

He handed his plate over to Remus, letting him take what he wanted before sullenly lashing out at the remainder of his potatoes with a spoon.

* * *

Cassy was hardly surprised when she discovered it was Remus who had been knocking on the door of the room she was sharing with Lily.

"Greetings and salutations, Meadowes," he said and swept an invisible top hat from his head.

"I was a right idiot for bringing up his mum."

Remus adopted a pensive expression. "Possibly."

"I went way too far with that comment."

"That's probable," he said with a slight incline of his head as he positioned himself at the edge of her bed.

"I should go apologize, shouldn't I? I came here because James said Sirius shouldn't be without friends, and now I'm just being mean."

Remus gazed at his old friend as he considered his possible responses. He wondered briefly if Sirius, or any of the others besides Lily, for that matter, knew just how much their words meant to this young woman. "Well, you did manage to get him out of the bathroom. That was a very positive accomplishment."

"Yeah, why was he trying to drown himself in the bathtub? I mean, as opposed to his normal moping about the house… And all of those vicious attacks he made on his food at dinner—What was that about?"

"You mean, James didn't tell you?"

Cassy shook her head. "It's something to do with his family, isn't it?"

"His, uh, mother—although she hardly merits the description—wrote him a, shall we say, rather cruel letter that he received recently. In the letter, she detailed her plans to groom her son, Regulus, for the Death Eaters, or at least for some illustrious career in the Dark Arts. She also mentioned rather frequently how Sirius was a horrid spot on the Black family name and how she would make certain that he would never find a home with any of relatives so long as he lived. Finally, she revealed how she was absolutely certain that all of his friends were not only Mudbloods and traitors to the wizarding race, but that we are all going to die a terribly slow and torturous death—and if she's lucky, it'll be at the hands of Sirius' certifiably deranged cousin Bellatrix," Remus concluded.

Cassy was unable to suppress a shiver as Bellatrix's name was mentioned. Bellatrix had tormented Cassy during her first year at Hogwarts, and Cassy remembered very clearly the handful of times that Sirius had stepped between her and Bellatrix, helping a classmate he hardly knew if only because he despised his cousin so thoroughly.

"Then my comment about his mother was completely inappropriate," she realized glumly.

Now Remus shook his head. "She was simply being herself. No, I'm fairly certain that Sirius was testing his strengths against a bathtub full of water because of what his mother said about Regulus. He certainly won't admit it, but he adores his younger brother. That's why he's always so cross with him."

Cassy finally uncurled her body from her squished position amongst her pillows. "I'm going to assume you came in here to talk about something other than me and Sirius."

"Yes," he cleared his throat. "I wanted to inform you that, since you were not present for desert, it was not brought to your attention that Sirius has quite the supply of ice cream lurking about in his freezer."

"Does he now?"

"Care for an early evening ice cream raid?"

She scurried forward. "Remus Lupin, I do believe we have ourselves a date with a freezer."

* * *

It was late the following day before Cassy could force herself to speak to Sirius. It wasn't that she was afraid of him at all, especially since Remus had talked to her; it was just that ever since their outburst, he hadn't even looked at her, much less said a word to her. She was afraid that somehow, this whole thing had badly affected their friendship. She knocked on the door to the room that he was sharing with James and was thankful that Lily and James could be heard arguing in the kitchen again so that there wouldn't be any interruptions.

"Yeah?"

Timidly, she pushed open the door. "Please say you don't hate me."

"'You don't hate me,'" he replied. He was stretched out on his bed wearing his pajama bottoms and not much else.

Now, had Cassy been any other girl, she probably would have swooned at the sight of his nearly perfectly toned torso, but this was Cassy and she was not part of the Sirius Black Fan Club. She pushed right into the room and sat down in the chair in the corner, completely unruffled by his current state of undress.

"So, I'm sorry—" Cassy began.

"Cass, you didn't do anything wrong," he stopped her. "I was being exactly who you said I was: an egomaniacal git."

"But you're not. I was just joking around. Remus told me about the letter, and I said some stupid things over dinner. You have every right to be mean and surly towards me."

He sat up almost immediately. "I do not."

"Yes, you absolutely do, and I hereby grant those rights to you."

"Well, I do not exercise any of those rights on you," Sirius told her stubbornly.

"Really?" she perked up.

"Really."

"So, then, you're not mad at me at all?"

"Nope."

"Oh, good, because I accidentally finished off the last of the mint chocolate chip ice cream."

"What? How is that an accident?" If there was one thing they both agreed on, it was that mint chocolate chip ice cream was the best in the world.

"Well, I wasn't alone. Remus—"

"I am now going to exercise one of my rights on you!" He announced decisively, standing up.

"Oh? And which right might that be?" she asked, fully ready to spring from the chair and run away, if need be.

"The tickling right," he smirked.

"Oh, no."

Cassy immediately dashed forward out of her seat, covering her sides as she moved. She couldn't get away fast enough, though, and Sirius tackled her to the floor. And seen as how he had landed pretty much on top of her, she doubted that she ever would get away now. Laughing so hard that she could barely breathe, Cassy shouted for him to stop, but he only attacked her ticklish spots more.

Things only got worse when James walked in.

Sirius stopped the tickling and looked up at the intruder from where he was sitting on Cassy.

"Oh. Am I...?" James waved his hands in the air suggestively. Apparently, he was done arguing with Lily.

"No!" Cassy and Sirius both said forcefully.

"Okay!" He held up his hands in defeat and closed the door, leaving the two friends alone again.

Sirius got up off Cassy, who, in turn, sat up.

"I think you should exercise one of your rights on him." She jabbed her thumb at the closed door.

"Strangely, I agree with you, O Ticklish One."

Cassy could only grin.

* * *

**Author's Note: Bonjour! Thanks for reading the first chapter. We've got a long way to go, so sit tight. And enjoy! Comments, reviews, and all that fun stuff are always welcome!**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 2 - Diagon Alley**

"Just think, one more year of Hogwarts and then it's out into the real world for us," James said to the others as they stepped out the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. The day was hot and humid, and James's hair was twice as ruffled as usual.

"Just think, one more year of hexing Severus, and then it's out into the non-hexing world for you," Cassy said happily as she gazed at the various shops surrounding her. Though she sometimes couldn't help wanting to join in, she usually, like Lily, disapproved of the hexing.

Sirius and James looked scandalized at Cassy's comment. Remus shook his head, barely suppressing a laugh as Lily nodded stiffly.

"Cass, you can't be _serious _when you say—" Sirius started to argue.

"You're absolutely right," Cassy agreed. "I can't be _Sirius_; you already are."

It took a moment for her remark to filter through his mind, but once it did, he merely sighed.

"I really should have seen that one coming," he conceded.

"Today is a good day," said the blonde girl briskly as she headed down one more shop to the Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.

The group was greeted by the normal stench, which forced Lily to plug her nose.

"Why must it always smell like this in here?"

"Yeah, and why did we even decide to take N.E.W.T. Potions?" James said as he walked rigidly past a bin of dead salamanders.

"If I remember correctly, someone wanted to become an Auror," Remus answered pointedly from where he was examining unicorn horns with Cassy.

"This coming from the man who refused to drop any classes because 'you never know what might come in handy someday.'" Sirius retorted and picked up several vials of a murky, orange liquid. Cassy could only roll her eyes. She knew that the boys loved complaining almost as much as they loved hexing other people, but she also knew that none of the complaining was sincere. James and Sirius had been bragging about their desire to become Aurors for years, and they had always enjoyed potions, if only because it provided an excellent opportunity for causing Severus Snape's cauldron to explode and make it look like an accident.

They walked out a while later, Apothecary bags full and heavy, with their noses welcoming the fresh air. Cassy was ready to head on over to Ollivander's and started to do so when she slammed into Sirius, who had stopped dead in his tracks.

"Bugger!" she hissed. "Siri, why'd you stop? I nearly dropped my bag!"

He wasn't listening though. Instead, he was turning about and heading in the other direction.

"Sirius, where are you going? That's the wrong way to Ollivander's!" she called.

"Meadowes!" a voice drawled loudly behind her.

"Oh, double bugger," Cassy whispered; she recognized that voice that sounded so much like Sirius'. She turned around and came face to face with Regulus Black, as well as four other Slytherins in Regulus' year who were all bad news.

"You know, Reggie darling, if you're going to call me by my last name, you might as well get it right. It's 'Miss Meadowes' to you, since I am in fact your superior in age, intelligence, and looks."

"You shouldn't even be speaking to her," James snarled from beside Cassy.

She quickly glanced at him. "James, go after Sirius and make sure he doesn't burn something down."

"Not a chance, Cassy."

"James, go now and take the others, or I'll encourage Reggie and company to hex you. I can handle the kid brother and the other twerps."

James huffed and shot her a very disapproving look, but obeyed.

"Was that my brother just now?" Regulus asked once she was alone.

"You mean the tall, handsome, arrogant bugger heading far away from you? Yeah, I'd imagine so. Oh, and you can send the goons away. I sent mine away, so you can send yours." She watched the left hand of one of the goons twitch for his wand.

"They don't leave," Regulus replied haughtily.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"I have a message for my brother."

"Oh, really? Well, that's brilliant! There's an owl shop just down the street where you can get that done!" she exclaimed and made to walk away.

"You don't leave until I tell you to, Meadowes!" He had his wand raised now, and his friends had followed suit. Cassy stared from one wand tip to the next. She had barely spoken to this kid for two minutes, and already he was ready to order her cursed into next Thursday.

"See, now that's just plain bonkers. We're in the middle of a war, and you lot decide to point your wands at a witch who is of age and fully able to perform flawless, wandless, wordless magic. Bloody stupid. What's the message, Reggie?"

"Tell my brother that Mother wants to know how to take the things off his walls."

"I'm sorry, could you be a little vaguer? I think I might have misheard you."

"He left… things—pictures, letters—plastered to his walls, and we can't them off."

Cassy cracked a toothy grin. "What? You mean you haven't got some sort of Dark Arts spell for that? Oh dear, whatever will Voldemort think when he hears the sad news? His whole campaign for Ministry domination will be over!"

One of Black's underlings raised his wand a bit higher in the air as Regulus narrowed his eyes.

She merely shook her head. "Put the wand away, Regulus. And everyone else. I'll tell Sirius, but don't expect a reasonable answer."

As she watched the Slytherins walk away wordlessly, a voice spoke into her ear. "How impressive. A conversation with a Slytherin that bordered on civil."

She turned around smiling. "You're one to talk, Remus!"

"In case you're wondering, Sirius has not, as of one minute ago, blown anything up."

"Is he alright, at least?"

Remus shrugged, and the action made him appear fatigued.

"We'll make him better," she said and rested a hand on his arm encouragingly. "Now, can I please go to Ollivander's?"

* * *

Cassy waved her wand in the air and sparks in her favorite colors shot out the tip.

"Aww, come on Cass, not at the dinner table!" James groaned. Cassy had not stopped showing off her new wand since she had walked out of Ollivander's.

"James, they're just harmless sparks," she laughed. "They're not going to destroy the food! _Accio carrots_!"

The large bowl of cooked carrots flew into her hands and she set it onto the table they were preparing for dinner. James had volunteered to be chef for the night, and Cassy had volunteered to help set the table. The others were elsewhere in the house, helping Peter Pettigrew and Marlene McKinnon, both of whom had just arrived to the house for the rest of summer, to get settled.

Sirius, meanwhile, was sitting alone on the living room couch, glaring at nothing in particular.

As Emmeline came downstairs from the room she was now sharing with Marlene, she noticed his sour disposition and sat down next to him. "Hi, Siri."

He emitted a small grunt-like noise in reply.

"Look, I know I'm not as good as Cassy is when it comes to doing these things, but you really ought to try to break out of this bad mood. We're all worried about you; we don't like when you act like this because we don't know what to do. We know you aren't having the best of times..."

Sirius finally looked up at Emmeline. He wasn't having the best of times? What an understatement!

"...and I know I may not be of any help at all, but if you ever need someone to talk to about this, to try to feel better... well..."

There was a crash and a shattering of glass, followed by James's angry voice.

"Dammit, Cassy! Use that wand one more time to help out tonight, and I'll snap it in two! _Reparo_!"

Emmeline could only imagine the pieces of whatever Cassy had broken zooming back together before she turned back to Sirius.

"Anyway, if you ever, well, you know…"

"I get it, Emmie," Sirius finally spoke up.

"Okay. I'm going to go help with dinner then, before James goes off again."

"Listen, thanks," Sirius said before she left the room. "It means a lot to me. Honestly."

Over the last two weeks of the students' vacation, there was a gradual improvement in Sirius. The day he seemed to be completely cured, though, was the day that Lily walked in on him and James apparently planning some new pranks for the coming year. She nearly chewed his head off, but ended up saying that she was glad to see he was back to his mischievous ways again. Sirius merely grinned like an idiot.

Lily stalked out of the room, much to James's disappointment.

* * *

So everything was back to normal when the group walked onto Platform 9 3/4. Cassy, Lily and Remus quickly broke away from the group and got on the Hogwarts Express. Lily and Remus headed for the Prefect's cabin, while Cassy went to reserve a cabin for their whole group. The others remained on the platform, chatting to the returning students they knew.

Sirius didn't linger long, however. His unofficial—and manic—fan club was gathering nearby, and he was starting to feel the need to make himself scarce.

"Guys, I'll meet you on the train," he whispered.

"Why? What—" Emmeline questioned.

He pointed at the giggling girls.

She raised an eyebrow, amused. "I'll go try to distract them."

"You're fantastic, and I adore you," he said in reply and was then lost in the crowd.

Cassy, meanwhile, was bored and wondering when exactly everyone else was going to show up. She stuck her head out the cabin door and almost in reply to her mind's wonderings, she saw Sirius further down the passageway, squeezing past people with his typical charm. Cassy ducked back into the cabin and shut the door.

Sirius continued to come down the unnecessarily skinny passage, looking through each door he passed for his blonde friend. As it turned out though, he need hardly look into the actual room because Cassy's face was plastered and squished up against one door window of its own free will, and it was making ridiculous faces at him. He let out a bark-like laugh at the sight and then tapped on the glass so she would remove her face from it.

Laughing, she opened the door and stepped aside to allow him in.

"To what do I owe the honor?" she mock bowed.

"Oh, shut up and let me hide!"

She smirked. "Girl trouble?"

"Am I that predictable?"

"Sorry, mate."

He flopped onto the seat and covered his face with his hands. "Can't I just stop being Sirius Black for once and start being...?"

He trailed off, looking for the right term.

"Sirius Green?" Cassy tried.

"Yeah!" he sat up.

Cassy smiled in an almost grim fashion and uncrossed her arms to pat his shoulder.

"Perk up, huh? I don't like it when you're like this."

"Yeah, alright," he sighed and then looked toward the door and swore. "Oh, God, Cass, just make them go away!"

The fan club was trying to inconspicuously gawk at him from the other side of the door. After a couple moments, Emmeline came along—looking slightly flushed and rather annoyed—and managed to push them away out of sight.

"Thank God for that girl," Sirius sighed in relief as Cassy laughed.

* * *

Once the train started moving and the eight friends were appropriately squished in their compartment, the friends managed to have a good time. They had even managed to get their robes on in a timely manner, an unusual feat for someone like Cassy, who, along with Sirius, still point-blank refused to properly fasten them shut.

"But Sirius, you know Professor McGonagall won't like it," Lily was still trying to convince the young black-haired man to fix his outfit; she had long ago given up on Cassy.

"Obviously, Evans. You think I do this just to look good?"

"Sometimes it's hard to tell with you," she replied and got up to look out the window, leaning a little across James in the process. "We should be stopping soon."

James took the opportunity to reposition his feet as he waited for her to step back.

"Auugghhh!" she shouted as she tripped over his feet and consequently landed in his lap.

James winked at Remus, who sighed and rolled his eyes, and then said to Lily, "Careful, Evans... you alright?"

"Clever of you, James, but could you be a little more obvious next time? You can be so disgusting and—Will you get your hands off me?" she burst out, though Marlene could have sworn she saw Lily blushing.

James removed his hands from Lily's waist, where he had been helping her to her feet. When she finally righted herself, she sat down opposite him and leered out the window.

"Smooth move, Prongs," Sirius sat back with a stupid grin on his face and promptly propped his feet up on Cassy's knees. She shoved them off after a moment.

"Like you would've done any different," James retaliated.

"Yes, but you don't have the Sirius Black charm," smiling handsomely to prove his point, making Cassy roll her eyes as Peter sniggered.

"We're here!" Lily said suddenly and left the small cabin without another word.

James looked out the window to affirm her statement, and sure enough, they were pulling into the platform. A large, familiar figure was waiting for them. James made a mental note to say hello to Hagrid when he could.

Marlene stood up next and looked at James, almost with pity in her eyes. "She likes you, James, don't worry."

"How do you know?" he looked surprised.

Emmeline stood up smartly. "It's a girl thing."

James looked positively flabbergasted as she turned to Cassy.

"Coming? Us girls do have to stick together you know," she chuckled lightly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with Peter.

"Of course," Cassy rose and followed them out.

"I don't think I'll ever understand girls," Peter finally spoke up.

"You and the rest of us," James agreed.

* * *

**Author here! Reviews are lovely! More as soon as I can finish editing the next chapter!**


	3. First Day, First Hex

**Chapter 3 - First Day, First Hex**

"Wonder what Dumbledore'll say this year?" Remus asked his friends.

"Eh, who knows with old Dumbledore?" James replied with a shrug as the Marauders entered the Great Hall. They had yet to catch up with the girls, but were too preoccupied theorizing their headmaster's yearly speech to spend much time looking for them.

"What was the one he had last year?" Peter asked.

"'A truly wise man never plays leap frog with a unicorn,'" Sirius quoted with his hand placed over his heart.

The others laughed as they pushed their way down to the front of the Gryffindor table closest to the professors' table.

"With any luck it'll be about gnomes and the consistency of squirrel droppings this year," Sirius continued, but then caught Emmeline's eye. She was chatting with a large group of girls that included Lily, Marlene, Cassy, and a handful of Ravenclaws, and she was smiling at him. He waved back and made a mental note to ask his mates when she had gotten to be so pretty.

Just then, the hall doors opened and the new students came in to be sorted. The returning students scurried to their seats as an excited silence fell over the hall.

The Sorting Hat was sitting upon its stool, looking ragged as always. Led by Professor McGonagall, who looked dignified as always, the terrified gaggle of first years filed down the center aisle of the Great Hall. A small girl with blond pigtails met Sirius's gaze for the briefest of moments before she hurriedly redirected her line of sight. For Sirius, there was something deeply unsettling in that look of hers. Had he, or any of his friends, been that plainly terrified six years ago? In another six years' time, would that girl be sitting where he was now, wondering the same things? In fact, where would he, Sirius, be in another six years?

The first name was called for Gryffindor and Sirius rose to his feet with the rest of the table. The young boy took at seat to loud applause, but none so thunderous was the Marauders'.

It continued in this fashion for some time until the last student was named as a Hufflepuff. By then, James had nearly yelled himself hoarse and had received several glances of warning from Professor McGonagall, but was too busy trying to catch Lily's attention to take much notice. Gradually, the noise quieted to a dull roar as the Sorting Hat was removed, and then went down to nothing as Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Now, before we become too befuddled by our own delectable feast to move, a few announcements for incoming students," he began and James immediately began bewitching his fork to attack Remus's spoon. Sirius managed to pull his attention away from the impending great silverware war and back to Dumbledore as he said, "And now, I offer you not a speech, nor a word of advice, but a question. Who is the fool: the fool or the fool who follows him?"

He took his seat again to whispers from amongst the tables. Sirius's mood darkened a shade. To him, those were oddly ominous words for such increasingly dangerous times.

* * *

"So what did you think of Dumbledore's speech?" Marlene asked Emmeline and Cassy back in the girls' dormitory. Lily was still attending to her duties as Head Girl.

"Well, wasn't it obvious? He was insulting Voldemort and anyone dumb enough to start following him!" Cassy said. She too had picked up on the grim undertones of his question. "I mean, if I were Dumbledore, I'd be throwing every sort of veiled insult I could think of at ol' Moldy-wart, not to mention fashioning an entire army of anti-Moldy-wart supporters right here at Hogwarts."

"Cassy!" Emmeline hissed. "That's not a safe thing to say!"

"Yeah, well, what isn't anymore? I just have to open my mouth and someone in the world is offended," Cassy said off-hand and walked into the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

"Hey! I was gonna go in there!" Marlene complained.

From the other side of the door came Cassy's loud laugh, but deep inside, she was troubled. If Dumbledore was asking such thinly disguised questions, weren't things becoming worse then? She was certain three-quarters of the school had seen right through Dumbledore's comment for what it really was, and, in truth, she didn't like it one bit. Cassy knew all too well what Voldemort and his followers could do to people, and from everything that she could gather, the war was only getting worse. Unconsciously, she gripped the edge of the bathroom sink so tightly that her hand was shaking. Voldemort had to be stopped, she knew, and if Dumbledore was so freely sharing his thoughts of Voldemort and his followers, then maybe Cassy owed a visit to the Headmaster's office. She rinsed her mouth rapidly and wiped under her bottom lip dry before exiting the bathroom and preparing for what she hoped would be a good night's rest.

But that rest would not come. Even long after Lily had come in and gone to bed, Cassy could not seem to find sleep. She maneuvered herself into every comfortable position imaginable—and even some quite uncomfortable ones—but every five minutes, she would feel more awake than ever. Feeling the urge to write herself to sleep, she rose from her four-poster bed, grabbed the notebook that James had given her two years ago as a Christmas present, a quill and ink jar, and went down to the Gryffindor Common Room. She instantly snuggled into her favorite squishy comfy chair by the fire and put her quill to paper.

She had written a good five pages before she noticed someone coming down the stairs from the boys' dormitory. It was a tall figure she thought she recognized, so she called out to it.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

There was a quiet laugh and then Remus Lupin stepped into the light. "Looks like I'm not the only one who can't get to sleep."

Cassy could only agree, noticing that Remus looked as though the past several nights had held no sleep for him.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one who suffers from chronic loss-of-sleep-ness," she greeted properly and shifted in her chair.

"It's called insomnia, Cass," he walked over to her.

"I know, but who's gonna remember that at this time of night besides you?" she yawned, dropping her quill between the pages of her notebook.

In all reality, Cassy was actually quite smart and all but rivaled Sirius with her natural talent for just about every activity imaginable. The only problem was that she was more of a daydreamer than most of her friends and tended not to apply herself as much to her tasks. And sometimes affected her grades.

"Cass, why don't you get some sleep?" Remus asked gently and sat down on the couch perpendicular to her chair.

"Look who's talking. Pot, kettle."

"Yes, but I don't fall asleep in class the next day if I don't get a good amount of sleep."

Cassy could find no rational rebuttal to that, so she merely went back to her writing.

Remus sighed and stretched out on the couch. He'd almost forgotten how stubborn she could be.

* * *

"Remus, Remus..."

Someone was patting the side of his face. And roughly, at that.

"Come on Moony, wake up!" the voice said irritably.

"Alright, alright. Jus' back off!" He swatted at the patting hand and opened his eyes.

Sirius's grinning face was only inches from his own.

"You," Remus stated as his eyes adjusting to the sunlight illuminating the room.

"Yes, me. Now get up; classes are about to start!"

"Really?" He jerked into an upright position, and then stood up, making Sirius rather grateful for his quick reflexes. "Where's my schedule? Did you pick it up? Why didn't you—?"

"Hey, Moony, calm down! Classes don't start until after breakfast, but we're already going to be late as it is since you're still in your nighties."

"I—What? Oh... yeah." He looked down to see his bathrobe and bare feet. His eyes surveyed his surroundings until he happened upon a sleeping Cassy, who looked almost adorable with her notebook still open on her lap and a pleasant expression on her face.

"Any luck with her yet?" he yawned and stretched.

"Nope. Saving the hardest for last, mate."

"Humph. Good luck. Lily says it's near impossible, even after all these years."

"Well, I'll try," Sirius replied and turned away from Remus's retreating form. He bent down over Cassy a bit. "Hey, Cassy!" He prodded the sleeping form in the shoulder. She muttered incoherently.

"Cass, Cass. Caaaassyyyyy... Cassy Meadowes..."

Nothing.

"Dorcas Jane Meadowes."

"Hol' on. I've still gotta… thing…" Whoever was insistently poking her would severely pay later on, Cassy decided. After she finished sleeping of course.

"Fine, then I'm gonna read what you wrote," came the almost sing-song voice.

"No fair..." Cassy's hands clamped tightly around her notebook just as it began to slip off her lap.

"Come on then, get up! Otherwise you'll miss Snivellus getting eaten by the giant squid!"

"Real... Wh-wh-where? Where?" Cassy finally opened her eyes and saw Sirius standing above her. "Oh, it's you."

"I've been getting that reaction a good amount today," he mused, trying to ignore the sensation sneaking into his stomach now that she was looking directly into his eyes. Sirius felt it was a damned shame that she literally had no comprehension of how cute she could be when she let her guard down.

Cassy tried to get her feet, oblivious to what was going on in Sirius's head, but collapsed back into the chair when her body bluntly refused to obey her mind. "Ooh, it's early!"

"Better early than super late!"

She looked up at him suspiciously, then said groggily, "Woss gott'n in' you?"

"Funny you ask... I'm usually the one that's gotten into others..."

"What? ... Oh, God. I 'aven't even had breakfast yet and already you're makin' dirty comments."

"Come on! We have to get our schedules and our breakfast!"

Cassy finally made it to her feet and was grumbling about Sirius's oddly chipper behavior when Lily came in with several pieces of parchment in one hand.

"Schedules!" she announced and gave the appropriate schedule to her friends.

After a quick discussion to make sure they had the same classes (which they did, except Lily, who was also taking N.E.W.T. Muggle Studies, to which Sirius argued that she had already been a Muggle for the eleven years of her life so there could not be any possible reason for her to take the course, but Lily just ignored him), Cassy found to her disgust that that classes did not start for another two hours, so she promptly fell back asleep.

* * *

"Well, if you ask me, N.E.W.T.s will be just as easy as our O.W.L.s were," Sirius said to the other Marauders on the way to their first class, N.E.W.T. Potions.

"You think everything is easy," Remus pointed out.

"Exactly!" James agreed. "Oy, scat!"

A bunch of first years that had been in his away moved aside, allowing the Quidditch Captain to pass.

"Lily wouldn't like that much, Prongs," Sirius reminded.

"She doesn't have to know, does she?"

Sirius shook his head and laughed. "If you don't take your duties as Head Boy seriously, you'll never get her."

"Oh? And how do you know?"

He looked at James, eyebrow raised in amusement. He was notorious for knowing what girls wanted and how to give it to them.

"Alright, but no lectures on what girls want, okay? And what is wrong with you anyway? You were awake before any of us this morning, and now you're smiling like a maniac. I don't like it."

"I have a new reason to live," Sirius replied somewhat proudly.

The others, including Wormtail, laughed.

"And what reason would that be?" James asked, although he feared he already knew the answer.

"Emmeline Vance. Did you see how amazing she looked our first night back?" They entered their Potions class and sat down. "She definitely wants me," he continued, relaxing back in his seat.

"Every girl wants you mate," James said tiredly as though they had had this conversation a million times before, which they had. "Except Lily, of course."

"'Course not."

"I don't think Cassy's too keen on you either," Peter added.

"Yeah, but that's Cassy. I mean, she's well, just Cassy. There isn't really another word for her is there?"

"I think 'weird' might fit nicely," Peter replied, only to get a reproachful glare from both Sirius and Remus.

Just then the girls walked in and Cassy waved at the Marauders, who grinned and waved back. Emmeline smiled at Sirius and he blew her a kiss, which made her smile wider.

"Oh, yes," he sat back satisfied. "She wants me."

* * *

The two hour break between Potions and their next class afforded the Marauders an opportunity to grab an early lunch. James and Peter were on one side of the table playing a card game while Sirius and Remus occupied the opposite side of the table. Remus was engaging in his hourly dose of reading, but Sirius was lying down, doing nothing but stare at the ceiling, which was pleasantly sunny today. One of his legs was bent, knee pointing up, and his hands were doubling as pillow behind his head.

Remus glanced down at him, frowning slightly. "Why don't you start on your homework instead of just lying around?"

"What, during my break?" He lifted his head up slightly.

"Just a thought."

"Moony, you should know better than that." James looked up from his game at Remus, then at the movement out of the corner of his eye. He stiffened visibly and watched the newcomers with hatred.

Remus turned to see what could have possibly caused this current glare, and glanced sideways back at James to see if he would do anything.

"You guys are getting to be so boring," Sirius complained loudly, oblivious to what was going on above him. "I mean, come on Prongs, it's a nice day out; let's go shoot some Quaffles or something. You need the practice. Prongs?"

He sat up, knowing something to not be right and followed Jamess line of sight until he spotted his brother walking with a Slytherin girl whose name he could never remember (not that he ever tried) towards the end of the Slytherin table. He became very still and tense, like a predator ready to spring onto its prey.

Remus placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a warning look.

"Fine. I won't do anything unless he does."

The four boys attempted to return to their previous activities, but not a one let Regulus from his sight. Peter eventually managed to get James to focus on the card game again, but the hold on James's attention was tenuous at best. It was taking quite a lot for him to not start launching spells at Sirius's younger brother.

Many more students began to file in, and more and more people began to eat lunch. Soon enough the girls came in and sat with the boys.

"Where were you?" Peter asked.

"In the Common Room, doing homework," Marlene answered.

"Why? Have you been in here the whole time?" Lily asked.

Remus nodded.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Emmeline asked. He looked sullen and dark again.

Remus nodded his head in the Slytherins' direction as Lily raised her eyebrows expectantly. James rumpled his hair out of habit and a twinge of nervousness.

"Nothing happened," Remus assured her.

She relaxed and took a bite of lunch.

Remus exchanged looks with James. They both knew that had the girls, as well as the other students, not shown up, things could've gotten ugly.

For now, crisis averted.

* * *

As the large group of friends went towards their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Sirius fell into stride with Cassy.

"So the amazing Mr. Black chooses to stoop down off his high cloud to talk to me," Cassy greeted. This was a running joke between the two of them. Cassy had first met Sirius in Charms class first year, and she had found his arrogance unbearable as he had attempted to claim that the levitation spell was for five year olds. Though she had gotten to know him much better since then and had learned he was not arrogant, merely prideful, she still gave him trouble about it from time to time.

"Yes, I have because I need to ask you a question."

"Ask away, Monsieur Black."

"Well, do you know if Emmeline is, er, going steady with anyone or has her eye on anyone right now?"

"What, you mean besides you? No, not that I know of. Thinking of asking her out?"

"I was thinking about it, yeah. So what do you think? Do I have a chance?" He brushed aside some of his black, cheekbone-length hair to better look at Cassy.

She was studying his face and hair, noting how gracefully it moved and how good it looked with its several layers, and she had the sudden urge to sketch his face. He was definitely an attractive piece of work.

"I think you have a much better chance than I do, Siri. And that's saying a lot." She patted his shoulder and smiled cutely.

"Thank you Cassy!" he said, his face lighting up, and picked her up suddenly in a large hug and twirled her around in the hall.

"Goodness, Sirius! Put me down!" she shouted as she laughed.

Surprisingly, he obeyed almost immediately and stood grinning as she readjusted her shirt and robe.

"As your primary care physician, I daresay you are on the way to a full recovery if your mood really is this exuberant," she noted dryly.

"Yes!" he cheered. "Thank you, doctor!"

He hugged her again, and then kissed her cheek, causing her to blush slightly. He certainly was happy.

"Thank you so much, Cassy. This is so great! I need to—" His eyes widened as though he had just thought of something. "I need to go talk to Emmeline! I need to tell her! I... I have to go!"

"So go!" she encouraged him and pushed him off in the right direction.

He jogged off, shouting his thanks again as he went, leaving Cassy shaking her head with a wide grin on her face. And yet what was that she was feeling? It was only slight, almost not even there. What was it...? Disappointment? With a sigh, she thought of the many times he had come to her before asking for her advice on women or asking for her opinion of certain girls at Hogwarts. How odd that she should be the one to aid in his serial monogamy. It was with a pang of sadness that she realized that one day he would stop asking for her advice because he would find someone whom he understood so well, who understood him so well, that there would never be any doubt in his mind as to how to keep this woman happy.

_Lucky woman_, Cassy thought to herself as she rounded the corner and collided with something unpleasant.

"Stay out of my way, Mudblood," Severus Snape spat at her.

There were many reasons why Cassy did not like Severus, but she knew how close he had to been to Lily in their youth, and she therefore tried, for the most part, to remain civil with him when he spoke to her. That is not to say that he reciprocated the idea, however, and today, Sirius's happy mood had deliciously infected Cassy. She was feeling devilishly playful.

"That's 'half-breed,' to you. Or perhaps 'blood traitor.' Which one do you prefer?" she wondered aloud, a mischievous glint coming into her eye. She was treading a delicate line with him, but perhaps her behavior would cause him to leave her alone before she decided her wand was more useful in her hand than in the pocket of her robes.

"You ought to be careful with who you mock. One day, it might lead to a nasty end," he spat in her general direction.

She cocked her head to the side and couldn't help but let her wand hand wander into her robes. "Is that a threat, _Snivellus_?"

"It is a statement of fact," he replied, his greasy, stringy hair falling into his face in a manner quite less attractive than the way Sirius's hair covered his face.

"Oh, really? And where are all of these scary people I should avoid mocking? Surely you cannot mean yourself," she laughed. "You're going to make me late for class."

Severus narrowed his eyes as Cassy stepped around him and continued in her original direction. And then Cassy did something that any of the Marauders would have classified as Very, Very Stupid: she muttered under her breath.

Although she muttered nothing more inflammatory than "Poor, poor boy," Severus could neither hear her words nor the tone of pity in her voice. The next thing Cassy was aware of was flying through the air across the hallway and landing on the floor in such a way that it knocked the wind clear out of her. As she struggled to breathe, she heard footsteps approach and managed to roll over onto her back to meet Severus's glare, much as her ribs protested against any such movement.

"How dare you, you pathetic little girl. To think that you are superior to me! Learn who your betters are!" he snapped, absolutely livid. Cassy was certain his head was about to burst into flame, he was so angry.

"You're a coward," she wheezed before pulling her wand out of her robes and hexing him without any further ado.

A moment later, Cassy knew nothing more than the feel of the cold tile floor against her cheek. Then, she knew nothing at all.

* * *

**Author's Note**: **Hello, again. I just wanted to take this opportunity to explain a bit about the story... I realize that parts of this story seem to be a little rushed, and as I work on revising them, I am trying in earnest to really flush out certain aspects of the story that were completely clear in the first draft. However, in the beginning of the story, I realize that it is exceptionally rushed, so even with my revisions, things might seem to move more like the middle of the story rather than the beginning. I'm working on it. Believe me. As the story progresses, it will get much better. I promise. For now, though, I sort of what you to feel as though you've been thrown into the middle of the story because I am setting the stage for bigger and better events to come. Stick it out, and I guarantee you'll like it!**


	4. Healing

**Chapter 4 - Healing**

The first sight to greet Cassy's eyes was the contrast of Lily's dark red hair with Marlene's black hair. Her head was buried into Marlene's shoulder and she appeared to be shaking. Cassy wondered what sort of injuries she had sustained in order to illicit such a response and her first instinct was to jump up and hug Lily until she could assure the girl that it would all be fine.

James was sitting quietly between Remus and the two girls, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Peter was on Moony's other side while Emmeline and Sirius were standing at the foot of her bed, hugging, with Emmeline's back to the bed. Cassy's eyes moved back over the crowd huddled around her bed and came to settle on Remus. He looked so distraught and sullen and empty that it worried her. His shoulders were hanging a little too low and the bags under his eyes were just a little too pronounced—for some reason, he was worse for wear than any of her other friends.

She tried to remember what had last happened to her, but the thoughts were more than a little fuzzy, and she pushed away whatever she could remember anyway when she noticed Sirius's shocked and wide-eyed gaze. His gaze did not leave her, even when Emmeline stirred in his arms.

"Don't worry; she'll survive. She's strong," she said softly and placed a hand on his cheek, guiding his face so it was looking at hers. His eyes did not leave Cassy, though.

She winked weakly and said softly, "Careful, Black... let your eyes go any wider and they could pop out."

Everyone moved and turned to stare at her in disbelief. All had a similar look on their face to Sirius's.

"What? I'm not dead, am I?" she asked. She lifted a hand and waggled solid, quite alive fingers in front of her face.

Without warning, Remus stood and walked quickly out of what Cassy now realized to be the Hogwarts hospital wing. Sirius watched him go and Cassy got the idea that he wanted to follow him, so why didn't he?

Perhaps it was Emmeline, whom he now had his arms around. And yet, despite this, he didn't seem to be paying much attention to her, not to mention making any real effort to comfort her. Cassy also got the distinct impression that things went much more deep with Remus than she knew. Though before Cassy had any more time to ponder this, a red blur descended down upon her and all but knocked the wind out of her.

"Ugh, Lily, geroff me!" came the muffled protest.

"Oh, Cassy, you're awake!"

"I am, huh?" she replied dryly.

"We were all so worried!"

"Oh, were you? Because it looked to me like you and Marlene were quite content in each other's arms," the sarcasm dripped.

"Cassy!" Lily gasped as both girls blushed profusely, though Marlene was grinning.

James let out a shaky laugh. "Well, we know she's alright if she's back to being so completely ridiculous."

"For a while, we weren't sure if we would ever hear a joke like that from you again," Peter explained.

"Why? How bad was it? How long was I out for?" She looked around, confused and concerned, from Peter to James and then to Lily.

"Two weeks," her red-haired friend said meekly.

"TWO WEEKS?" Cassy sat bolt upright, nearly dislodging Lily from where she was, but a throbbing pain shot through her skull and she collapsed back onto her pillow, exhausted again. "Oww... ow, ooh, ow," she raised a hand to her forehead, "Head rush, ow... dying... world going black..." Two seconds later, her head cleared. She lifted her head a bit and opened her eyes cautiously. Everything was back to normal. "Hey, I'm better!"

Emmeline lowered her head and sighed. Trust Cassy to be a true dramatist even in the most worrisome of situations.

"Well, what did I miss?" Cassy asked expectantly.

"A lot," Sirius spoke up at last, and to Cassy, it sounded as though he hadn't used his voice in weeks.

"Damn, I bet it was all going to show up on our N.E.W.T. exams too!" she hissed.

Sirius looked at her in confusion.

"You wake up, and all you care about is the school work you missed?" Marlene burst out, expressing Sirius's very thoughts.

"Of course not, but it _is_ pretty important, don't you think?"

"Oh, what does any of that matter? Especially after you get attacked and after—" Marlene stopped, looking torn between several emotions.

Cassy saw Emmeline glance in the direction in which Remus had disappeared. After what? What exactly had she missed?

"Well, it's Remus, you see," Emmeline said. "Though, it's not really him, it's his mother... We only got word a couple days ago..."

Cassy narrowed her eyes, thinking she knew very well where this was going.

"She's dead, Cassy," Sirius said suddenly.

She had guessed as much based on Emmeline's careful dance around the truth, but the blow still struck her hard. It wasn't easy to accept anyone's death, and she suddenly came to realize why Remus had left the room.

"How close did I come to dying?" she asked quietly.

"They said you might never wake up. They told Lily yesterday," Sirius answered. "This was the first chance we had to come and see you together."

"But I wasn't hurt that badly," she reasoned and protested, hardly wanting to believe this new information. "I remember that my ribs hurt, but I really don't think I was that bad…"

"They said they had no idea what Snivellus had done to you," James said, barely restraining his loathing for Severus. "He has crossed one line too many, that one. He better start watching his every step."

Lily shot James a look, but Cassy shook her head.

"Lily, please, don't get mad at James for saying that," she pleaded.

Her friend looked back at her. "Cassy, there was some heavy internal bleeding. Several of your ribs were cracked, if not broken. Your body hardly responded to any of the potions Madame Pompfrey gave you… We were really, really scared."

Cassy exhaled in a puff. "I didn't even last one full day of classes before I landed in the Hospital Wing. That's just not fair."

"Cassy, what exactly happened with you and Severus?" Marlene asked. "Professor Dumbledore won't tell us anything that Snape has told him."

But Cassy did not answer.

* * *

It took much coaxing to get the truth of the event out of her. Severus was mum on what he had done to her, even though James and Sirius tried multiple times to strong-arm an answer out of him. And Dumbledore certainly would not say anything on the matter, even though he would often stop by to visit Cassy while she remained under the watchful eyes of Madame Pompfrey.

Once Cassy was finally able to remember enough to merit a full account and felt she was capable of recounting the incident, she managed to tell James, who was visiting her at the time. However, she felt completely ashamed afterward. Not only had she intentionally provoked Severus Snape, she had let her guard down, too. How was she going to be of any use in the fight against Voldemort if she could not even keep her guard up against a 17-year-old Slytherin who was oddly obsessed with Lily? She had been ashamedly reckless, and it had caused her friends unnecessary worry. What sort of friend was she, anyway, to do that to them?

Cassy had always been an intelligent and capable witch—she had done extraordinarily well on her O.W.L.s—but she was now realizing that it wasn't enough. She learned the material well enough to pass her exams, but if she could not even recognize danger when it was staring her in the face and hexing her behind her back, then what chance did she have?

And then there was the matter of Remus.

He had become more silent and more depressed than Cassy had ever seen Sirius, and that was an accomplishment worth noting. He didn't even acknowledge Cassy when she made a suggestive joke about Sirius and James several days after waking up. In fact, he only seemed to retreat further into himself. No one, it seemed, not Sirius nor James even, could make it better. The death of a parent was a touchy subject for Cassy, having only recently come to terms with her father's death when she was thirteen, but when Remus didn't turn up for lunch one day after Potions, she decided to take action.

It was only a couple days after she'd been released from the hospital wing and she was still weak, but if anything, her resolve was ten times as strong.

"Don't try to stop me, James," she sighed as he tried to do just that.

"Just leave him alone, Cassy. He obviously wants it to be that way, don't see why we shouldn't respect that. We let you mope long enough when your dad died."

"But it's not healthy! Believe me; I know what I'm saying. You should have made me snap out of long before I actually did."

"Perhaps, but we've already tried to help him out, and he won't listen to us. Why will he listen to you? What makes you so special? It's not like you'll have anything useful to say."

That hurt. She, therefore, wasn't sure whether to slap him and be done with it or to slowly disembowel him over several grueling, pain-filled hours. She was certain, however, that his statement was a product of her inability to look after herself where Slytherins were concerned. The shame crept a little further into her heart.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." She swallowed her anger and strode away.

She caught up with Remus sitting on a fallen log by the lake.

"Hi, Reemie," she greeted softly, using one of the several nicknames she had for him. As she took a seat next to him, she noticed how worn and pale he was, even in the sun, and she instantly felt her heart ache.

"Hi, Cassy," he replied unenthusiastically. "Aren't you missing lunch?"

"Yes, but aren't you too? You know, I tried the whole depression thing once... didn't work out so well."

He tilted his head to one side to indicate she should continue talking.

She placed her hands on her knees and looked out across the lake. "When my dad died, it was like my whole world crashed down. He was everything to me... not only a great father, but my best friend and the only family member that actually cared two bits about me."

Remus listened to her carefully, rather wondering at how candidly she was now mentioning her father. She seldom talked about him without going comatose moments later. He wondered where she had found this new inner strength.

"I didn't stop mourning him," she continued. "Don't think I wanted to stop. I thought that if I stopped mourning, and stopped constantly thinking about him, I would forget him. Stupid, I know, but I didn't feel I could smile without him. I got so depressed I couldn't even laugh without suddenly clamming up with guilt at the fact that I was laughing when my dad was dead. I resolved that I would never be my cheery self again because of the memories it brought to me. And it worked out great for a while… I'm sure you remember that point in my life... but then I just got depressed about being depressed. The more time that passed, the more I came to realize that life would move on regardless, even if I didn't want it to. I just had to get used to that." She paused and turned to look at him now. "Look, I know it doesn't seem like it now—and it may not seem like it a year from now—but things'll turn out all right in the end; you'll see."

Remus was silent.

"So, I've also been thinking a lot about what happened with Snape, you know?" she changed the subject. "And I realized that I really need to start focusing on school more. I mean, you know I'm very capable of doing any magic you want to teach me… I'm just sort of lazy, aren't I? Head up in the clouds and the like. Well, I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to be the best in the class. Better than James and Sirius… better than you, even. I want to learn everything there is to learn before leaving because I don't want you all to worry about me again. I want to be the one who can protect my friends when the time comes. And it certainly seems like the time is coming, doesn't it? I think I'm going to need your help, though. I can't do all this learning on my own. Will you teach me what the Marauders know? I know the four of you have been hiding stuff. Please, Remus."

He turned now to look at her fully. She was absolutely serious, even though she was smiling. Could she really be changing? Could she really want to learn these things?

"You will do it, won't you?" she pleaded.

"I'll have to think about, Cassy," he replied truthfully.

"Good," she said and got to her feet. "But first you'll have to stop skipping lunch and hiding on logs near lakes. It'll make my lessons difficult if I can't find my teacher." She began to walk away, but turned back to face him. "You've got us all in a right worried state, you know. We've all got our panties in a twist over you, even Sirius. And I don't know about you, but twisted knickers aren't that comfortable to wear, if you know what I mean."

Remus returned his gaze to the lake once his blonde friend was out of sight. He watched the water gently ripple with perfect, tiny waves, and he sighed. Cassy was right. He knew she was right. Of course she was right. He just had no clue how on Earth he was going to keep on moving when such a chunk of his soul had been so unfairly ripped away. He didn't want to move on. He wanted to stay exactly this way and never move, never change a thing, never live another day doing anything else but sit on a log by the lake if it meant that no one else dear to him had to die.

* * *

Though each teacher expressed their concern at Cassy's state and seemed relieved—if that's what you could call it—to see her on her feet again, they felt no scruples about giving her as much make-up work as they could.

"But Professor," she complained, "I already have three other essays and two potions to do!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure you'll find the time to do it," Professor Binns said.

Cassy sighed and hefted her bag onto her shoulder before grumbling that of course he'd be the one to say that: being dead and all, he had all the time in the world for some dumb comparison essay. She'd always had an affinity for history and had even convinced her friends to take N.E.W.T. history classes, but at this point couldn't quite see the importance of comparing and contrasting the goblin revolutions of 1698 and 1784. Couldn't the goblins just finish themselves off and be done with it?

She rejoined Lily and Marlene at the end of the hall. "Well, if this workload doesn't kill me, I'll be invincible."

Marlene sniggered, but Lily remained serious.

"You'd better start working on it then," she said. "It's straight back to the Gryffindor tower with you, especially if you really do want to do better than the boys in class."

Cassy frowned. Lily always knew how to make her do the right thing, but a night of essay writing was not how she preferred to spend her evenings. Once she reached her dorm, she reluctantly pulled out her history books and began to read about the different revolutions. She figured she would start with the hardest assignment first. She didn't stop working even when the girls came in to check on her. She worked through dinner and on into the night, not even that hungry. She knew that if she didn't get a good head start now, she would never find the motivation to keep working toward her goal.

She knew she had to stay on top of her school work this year. Every fiber of her being told her that from now on she would need all the knowledge she could get just to stay alive.

* * *

She had finished all of her history work and was a third of the way through her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay ("Explain the advantages and disadvantages of an accomplished Legilimens"), when she noticed the ever-so-slight tapping at the door to the girls' dormitory.

Using her wand for light, she opened the door and a piece of parchment folded into the shape of a bird fluttered to her hand. She took it back to bed with her, looking around to see that she hadn't disturbed any of the girls, and opened the parchment. She instantly recognized Sirius's handwriting.

"Still up and about, Meadowes? Or has the pile of assignments swallowed you whole yet?" she read.

Shaking her head, she picked up her quill and wrote back. "Sorry, Black, still kicking. What are you doing anyway? I thought you'd be out snogging Emmeline about now or something. Where are you?"

She sent the bird back out and waited for the reply.

"I'm not doing much. How do you figure I'd be snogging her when last I checked, it was one in the morning… and last I saw, she was heading up to bed?"

"I dunno," she wrote back, "I'm still working that part out. So where are you anyway?"

"In the boys' dormitory. The others have just gone to sleep and I figured you could do with a break."

"How do you know I'm still working?"

"Cass, how long have I known you? You're still up working. How're you doing anyway?"

"Hungry."

"Want something to eat?"

"Yeah. Soup. Warm soup."

"Want me to get it for you?"

"You're just messing with me now. No fair."

"No, I'm serious."

"Yes, you definitely are."

"Oh, shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Do you want soup or not?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Give me half an hour."

"What, are you going to cook it?"

She sent the little bird back, but there was no reply. She went downstairs to see what was going on, and found Sirius about to climb out the portrait hole. "Where are you going?"

"To get you some soup." He turned around. "You still want it, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you had to leave the tower to get it," she admitted. The last thing she wanted was for him to get in trouble over one of her fancies.

"Worried I'll get caught?" he smirked.

How did he know?

"Want to come with me?"

The offer was enticing. "Yeah, sure."

"To the kitchens, then!" he announced with that devilish grin of his.

Sirius led her silently through the castle, and Cassy watched in awe as he knew just when to walk more softly because a professor might be working late in a classroom. He knew exactly which shadows to hide in whenever Filch or his cat were lurking around. He knew every nook and every crevice from which one could watch until certain that the coast was clear. He knew which steps creaked and which staircases moved at what times. Cassy was no novice when it came to exploring the castle, but Sirius, in her mind, might as well have been the one who build the castle and hired its entire staff. He still amazed her with his abilities to evade trouble after hours.

They reached the kitchens in record time. Inside, the house elves were already busy baking for the day that was to come. Cassy watched in fascination as a pair of particularly tiny house elves carried a gigantic sheet of what appeared to be miniature scones over to the oven in perfect synchronicity.

"You wanted soup, yes?" Sirius asked. "Anything else you see tickle your fancy?"

Cassy shook her head. "Unless they don't have soup. Then maybe a bowl of cereal."

Sirius flashed that smile of his and soon Cassy found herself with more soup than she knew what to do with.

"I cannot believe that stupid grin of yours works on house elves, too," she said as she blew on the steam rising from her bowl.

"It's not stupid," he replied defensively. "It's called 'charm.'" He took a bite of the pear he had procured for himself and some pear juice dribbled down his chin.

Cassy laughed. "So how does Emmeline like your 'charm'?"

He rolled his eyes. "I do not kiss and tell."

"You are lying to me!" she said, nearly spraying her soup everywhere. "C'mon, I need a little gossip. Tell me what happened after we talked about Emmie."

"Well, I found her," he revealed. "And then I kissed her, and then that was that. Not very interesting."

"Doesn't have to be," she shrugged. "I am glad to see Emmeline glow so. She really is happy that you like her like you do." Then, a well-known sparkle came into her eye. "So, have you shown her your favorite broom closet, yet?"

Sirius nearly choked on his pear. "That's not fair."

"I merely joke."

Sirius shook his head. "I should never have left you that day."

"What do you mean? The day that Snape decided to slam into me?"

"That's one way of putting it," he replied darkly. "I did not have to go running off like that. I could have waited to tell Emmeline until after class. And then we wouldn't have been late to class. And then you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I could have hexed Snivellus myself if he'd said one wrong thing to you."

"Oh, stop it," she snapped. "Don't go blaming yourself for whatever stupid thing I did."

He leaned against the table at which Cassy was sitting. "So this decision of yours to learn everything we know and beat us at our own game… Remus told me about it. Are you really going to go through with it?"

"Of course," she replied. "There's so much that I don't know. I mean, everything you had to learn for the Marauder's Map, and all of those useful hexes… and I know there's more that you're not telling me. And there's stuff that you have to know just from living with your family, Sirius."

His face darkened a shade. "There's a lot of that stuff that I'll never be sharing with anybody."

"I don't mean that stuff. It's just… my dad was an Auror, right? But you'd never know it when he was at home. It was as though he had two completely personalities. And even after I was accepted to Hogwarts, he would only teach me little tricks he had picked up over the years… but nothing useful. It was like he was protecting me by keeping me amused and uninformed. Here at school, I learn what I need to, to pass exams, but I'm not as serious about it as I should be."

"And you think James and I are? Have you seen our study habits?"

"Sirius Black, you are incredibly serious about your studies, so don't think for one moment that you have me fooled. You've wanted to be an Auror for ages, and you have to have top marks for that."

He studied her for a long moment as the house elves bustled about. Cassy could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Why did he have to look at her like that? She didn't like to be looked at so carefully. Finally, he made his decision.

"Alright, I'm in. I want you to beat us at our own game, too," he smiled. "And I'm pretty certain that if anyone will be able to do that, it'll be you."

"Thank you, Sirius," she replied. "For the soup and for the vote of confidence."

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks to hersheysmusicandtwilight for her review! Keep on reviewing and reading! Feedback is so important, you know**


	5. A Hogsmeade Romance

**Chapter 5 - A Hogsmeade Romance**

The first Hogsmeade weekend was announced as the first weekend in October, which would be the first weekend where Cassy wouldn't be working on her make-up work.

"Yes!" she shouted and punched her fist into the air as she finished reading the notice that had been posted in the common room. "Party at The Three Broomsticks!"

She danced a couple steps across the room and then plopped down between Sirius and Emmeline, who had been whispering to each other. She had taken to interrupting them whenever they started doing anything she saw as romantic in public. Neither of them understood why she did it, but perhaps it stemmed from the fact that she dearly loved to annoy them.

"So, are we going?" she asked, apparently quite comfy sitting half on Sirius and half on Emmeline.

"Of course we are," James answered from the next couch over as though there was no doubt in the world. "I've got plans."

"First Quidditch match is the day after," Sirius said, ignoring James's mentioning of plans. "Hufflepuff versus Slytherin. Cass, get your bony bum off me." He managed to push her off just enough so that he could get up. She toppled over and promptly took over the space on the couch he had just vacated.

"What sort of plans have you got for Hogsmeade, James?" Cassy asked, not falling for Sirius's diversion tactic.

James puffed up proudly as he tended to do whenever anything concerning Lily came to the forefront of his mind. Cassy figured she knew what was coming.

"You're really going to try to romance Lily again?" she grinned and rested her legs on Emmeline. "This should be a fun disaster to watch."

James looked offended. "You and Emmeline and Marlene are the ones who told me that Lily likes me!"

Sirius shook his head as if to say that the master did not approve of the student's idea to win the girl and save the day.

"You should try out for the team," Emmeline suggested, returning to the topic of Quidditch as smoothly as she slid the blonde girl's legs from her lap. "We have a Beater position open." She and James were both Chasers on the Gryffindor team, and this would be James's second year as Team Captain.

"Yeah, Cass, you'd make a fair Beater," James agreed, momentarily distracted. "I've seen how strong your arms are; why not put them to good use?"

"Besides, you'd have a legitimate reason to purposefully hit flying objects at passing Slytherins," Sirius flashed a grin from his new residence, standing near the fireplace.

She smirked in reply as she stretched out even more across the couch. "I'll think about it."

"That is, if James ever holds tryouts," Emmeline said accusingly.

"I'm working on it! I was thinking of doing it the Wednesday after the match. That way there would still be plenty of time to practice and we would know what two of the teams look like," he replied.

"Fine, but I'm still expecting you to post a notice by Monday!" she snapped.

"Smooth save, Prongs," Sirius said, laughing.

"Hmm," Cassy mused, "usually, it's your boyfriend, and not your Quidditch Captain, that you whip into shape."

The two young men turned an angry shade of red and looked terribly flustered. Cassy, who seemed quite pleased with herself, clasped her hands behind her head and propped her feet up on Emmeline, who promptly pushed them off.

Just then, Lily came in through the portrait hole, fresh off her duties as Head Girl. James immediately stood up as Lily tiredly began to examine the Hogsmeade notice, looking properly puffed up again.

"How were Head Girl duties, Lily?" he asked as he walked toward her, hands clasped behind his back like a gentleman.

"They were fine, James," she replied distractedly.

"I'm glad to hear it," he nodded.

From his spot against the fireplace, Sirius exchanged looks with Cassy, who had a big grin plastered on her face as though she could not wait to see what would happen next. Sirius exhaled roughly. It wasn't that he held no faith in his best friend's abilities to win the affections of his beloved Lily Evans—he just wondered if perhaps James ought to just leave Lily alone for a couple months, just to see what happened.

"Hogsmeade visit the first weekend of October," James noted lightly.

"I can see that," Lily noted and turned around to look at the young bespectacled man behind her. "And, no, James, I will not go with you."

Emmeline bit down solidly on her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

"I, er, actually hadn't planned on asking you," he said quietly.

Lily arched an eyebrow skeptically. "You weren't?"

"I was rather hoping to ask if you would come to Hogsmeade with all of us," he clarified, waving his arm to include his friends near the fireplace. "Sirius thought it up, actually… thought it might be fun for all of us to go together again, it being our last year and all."

Lily glanced over at Sirius, who quickly rearranged his confused expression into an encouraging one and gave her a thumbs-up. A second later, he looked at Emmeline as if to ask what he was doing. Oh, well, he supposed James deserved a wingman of Sirius's caliber, even after so many failed attempts to woo Lily.

"No tricks?" she demanded.

"None whatsoever, Lily. Please, come with us. It'll be nice to have the eight of us together again, don't you think?"

She sighed. "Yes, it would be nice to have all of us together in Hogsmeade. Alright, I will go."

James practically broke out into hysterics. He certainly lost all of his carefully collected composure as he wrapped his arms around Lily in a crushing embrace.

"James Potter! Remove your arms from around my waist!" she shouted into his ear.

And with that, Cassy, Emmeline, and Sirius could hold back their peals of laughter no longer and their raucous laughs filled the common room. James jumped back as though he had been burned and looked down at his feet, suitably reprimanded. Lily, meanwhile, stalked out of the common room, her cheeks as rosy as her hair color. She couldn't help that she really, really liked how nice James Potter smelled, but that did not mean that he could get away with anything a horrifying as a hug.

* * *

Cassy passed row after row of books to no avail. This person was certainly nowhere to be found. She had to hand it to the guy: when Remus Lupin wanted to study far away from the rest of the world, he could study far, _far _away from the rest of the world. She passed another tall row of ancient texts and ran across James and Peter pouring over a book that looked very old indeed.

"You know, normally, I would not be able to resist making some sort of crack comment about finding the two of you in the library, not to mention that Thing 2 is currently missing from this study party, but then again, he is probably swapping saliva with Emmeline or something equally as gross… so, instead, I am just going to inform you that I am on a mission," she said so quickly that Peter stared at Cassy as though she had been speaking Cantonese.

James carefully laid his quill across the page of the book in front of him. "Can we help you, Cassy?"

"What are you studying?" she asked, leaning forward to get a better look. "Is that in English?"

"Yes, it's in English. Early works on Animagi."

"Oh, is that about Falco Aesalon?"

"Somewhat," James replied as Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, can I have a look at it when you're done? Remus said I ought to study up on Animagi."

"He did?" If this bit of news had any effect whatsoever on James, he certainly did his best to remain coolly disinterested.

"Yes. I'm looking for him, by the way. Have you seen him?"

"I think he's in the Restricted Section," Peter mentioned and scratched his temple.

Cassy frowned. "I was just there. I couldn't find him."

James rolled his eyes as though she were hopelessly simple. "Well, of course you didn't see him. He's got my cloak."

"Why would he—No, wrong question. What is he looking up that he needs your Invisibility Cloak?" Cassy asked. "No, wait, don't tell me. If it's a prank, I don't want to hear about." She turned on her heels and walked back into the Restricted Section of the library. Carefully now, she turned down each aisle, whispering "Remus!" to the books, waiting for a book to move in a suspiciously Remus-like way, seemingly unguided across a table. "Remus, James said you were here, so you can come out now."

Remus stepped out from two aisles away. "Hello, there."

Cassy broke into a smile. "You're looking better today."

"I am… feeling better today," he agreed.

"I'm glad to hear it," she replied sincerely and walked over to Remus's aisle. She stared appreciatively at the mess of books and parchment spread out before her. "Hard at work, right?"

"That's one way of putting it, yes," he nodded as she shifted aside a pile of parchment that covered one chair and set down her bag.

"Great, because you can help me with this essay."

Remus looked at her a bit skeptically. "Since when have you ever needed my help writing essays? Cassy, you love writing."

"Oh, I'm not having any problems with the writing… it's just with the subject material. I mean, I know the magic, but I just can't really explain the theory behind it. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "Theory is often the most difficult. What class would this be for?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts. It has to do with wordless magic."

Remus took his seat next to Cassy, who had pulled out her notes and the beginnings of her essay and arranged them carefully in front of her. He quickly peeked at what she had discovered on her own. "But you're good at this, aren't you?"

"I can do it, but that doesn't mean I can explain it."

"Well, for the most part, the theory behind most of the magic you have listed here is very much similar to the theory for the spoken spells. In all honesty, it really only has to do with being able to control your magic to the degree that it does not require a physical word for execution."

Cassy nodded that she understood and began to take notes on what Remus told her. Occasionally, she interjected with a question or a statement of her own unique creation to provide clarification. Remus would smile at Cassy's amusing connections to popular Muggle culture films and television shows and agreed encouragingly, correcting her gently if her analogy didn't quite fit the situation. Cassy appreciated the help greatly and tried with all her might to understand the exact theory behind wordless magic. Remus had so greatly excelled in it that it had made her somewhat jealous in her sixth year, but she could never have held that against him—it was just like Remus to be so talented.

In hushed, excited voices, the pair of Gryffindors exchanged ideas and outlined her essay entirely Remus found it so very refreshing that Cassy's new-found desire to learn and understand for the sake of knowledge and practicality seemed to actually have taken root within her. He sincerely hoped it would last, especially if it meant that she would be searching him out in the library more often. There was something so alluring about Cassy's personality: she was full of such passion and love for her friends that she couldn't help but infect those around her with the same feelings. No matter what Remus was going through, he knew Cassy would always be able to say something to make him smile. And now that she was so very interested in his own ideas about magical theory, he could not stop smiling.

Finally, Cassy set down her quill. "I think I've got a boatload of ideas to work with now, Reems."

"Excellent. Does it make more sense now?"

"Yes, it makes complete sense. You know, Remus, you would make an excellent teacher."

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not sure I'm very good with kids. I'm not really the type—"

"Of course you are!" she interrupted. "You're patient and kind and you really do love sharing what you know with people. You would be perfect for the job! Why, you could even teach here!"

"I just don't think someone like me would be an appropriate choice." He shook his head to indicate that that was the end of this topic. He was a werewolf. Dorcas did not know, and he had no intention of telling her, but he did not feel as though he were doing anything wrong by telling her what he did. People like him were not meant to interact closely with others. He still considered it a miracle that he was a student at Hogwarts, let alone that any of the Marauders had bothered to remain friends with him. He reached out and lifted the top sheet of parchment from the work they had compiled. He picked up Cassy's quill and neatly crossed out a couple phrases before carefully writing in his own. Placing the sheet back down, he said, "I think that might describe it a little better."

She glanced down at the perfectly formed cursive lettering above her stylized printing. "I know I've mentioned this before, but you have very nice handwriting."

"Thank you."

"Your mother taught you how to write like this, didn't she? I think you told me she was an English teacher?"

"Yes, she was. Very strict about how I should write." He smiled sadly.

"Well, I'm certain she must have been very proud to see the man you have become. And proud to see how lovely your handwriting is."

"Thank you, Dorcas," he whispered. And there was another tiny piece of him that seemed healed again. For all of her faults, Cassy was most certainly an expert at helping one overcome depression. First Sirius, now him.

"So, does James really have plans for all of us over the Hogsmeade trip?" she asked, tactfully changing the subject before Remus's grief and gratitude got the better of him.

"It would be more accurate to say that he is including us all in his plans to ask Lily out one more time. He's even managed to somehow get me to agree to use part of the birthday present that he and Padfoot got me last year. Remember that?"

Cassy's almond-shaped eyes went wide. "Oh dear. This is going to be quite the plan, isn't it? I really hope Lily gives in this time. If only for James's sake."

"Me, too," Remus concurred. "You do believe that she fancies him, don't you?"

"Oh, I'm fairly positive, yes. You should have seen how she blushed when James accidentally hugged her on Monday. Absolutely priceless. Wouldn't show her face for a full hour," Cassy informed him with an impish grin.

Remus found himself chuckling and felt surprised by how natural the sound came to him. "I can only imagine."

* * *

The Hogsmeade weekend came sooner than expected and found Cassy in such high spirits that she was inspired to sing.

"We are the champions, my friends!" she sang out as she came down the stairs. "And we'll keep on fighting till the end..." Most of the people in the common room turned to watch her sudden breakout. "We are the champions, we are the champions; no time for losers cause we are the champions of the woooooorrrld!" she finished triumphantly and draped an arm over Peter and Remus.

"Don't give up your day job, Cassy," Peter said as those who had been watching turned away grinning.

"Oh, come on, she's not half bad," Remus argued.

"Aww, thanks, mate. We all ready to go?" she looked around to her other friends.

"Yeah, think we are... You've all got the plan down?" James lowered his voice.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Jimmy! Lil's nowhere near us!" Cassy burst out.

James looked as though he'd just been sucker punched. "I thought we agreed that you would never call me 'Jimmy' again."

Cassy's eyebrows knitted together in thought. "Did we? Oh, must've forgotten."

"I'll go find Lily and meet up with you at The Three Broomsticks," Emmeline said, bringing the conversation back to the issue at hand, and slipped away.

"Oh, I really hope this works," James fretted.

"James, you can be so cute sometimes," Cassy sighed and Marlene nodded in agreement.

"Really?"

"Yeah," came the reply. "In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd kiss you right here." She draped her arm about James's shoulder now as they walked through the portrait hole.

"Yes, but do you know any better?" Sirius asked with a lopsided smile.

Cassy appeared to think hard for a moment. "No," she decided and kissed James on the cheek.

"Hey, now, none of that," Remus joked in his quiet voice. "Our man of the hour's about to get hitched."

"Hitched? I don't even know if she'll go out with me after this!"

"Imagine that: the fearless James Potter afraid of being rejected! Again!" Cassy laughed.

"Not afraid... just so nervous, I'm shaking like a rattle."

The group laughed and soon fell silent, each thinking their own thoughts. As for Cassy, she began to ponder the group's dynamics.

They hadn't always been so tightly knit. They had known each other since their first year, but merely through house association. Through similar residence, the girls fast became friends with the girls and the same went for the boys. The girls had easily befriended Remus, who had been a kindhearted soul from the very moment he had met them, and Cassy and Marlene even extended their friendship to the other Marauders once they saw how much Remus valued the boys. Lily and Emmeline, however, had remained skeptical of Sirius, and especially James.

It wasn't until their sixth year that they became one huge, inseparable conglomerate. Lily had noticed a definite drop in James's egotistical behavior, which sparked Marlene and Cassy to instantly drag the other two over to the Marauders. Cassy often marveled at the fact that Lily had ever agreed to it, but now figured, along with Marlene and Emmie, that she had secretly liked James. The three of them often joked that Lily had actually nursed a crush for James ever since their fourth year when he had saved her from a grindylow in the lake after Cassy had convinced everyone that the best way to cool off on a hot spring day was to take a swim in the water. And now the eight of them were inseparable, unstoppable, and, together, completely insane.

Perhaps that was why Cassy was a bit bothered by the romances that seemed to be popping up all over their small faction. Perhaps it was that she didn't want what they had to end.

* * *

Though they were there to enjoy themselves, the group was nevertheless aware of the dangers in the world. The reminders seemed to be everywhere. Every shop window bore a warning sign against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the shopkeepers were edgier than usual, and the air was tense with suspicion.

The group entered The Three Broomsticks to find Lily and Emmeline already there. The pub, they noticed, even with the hustle and bustle of the Hogwarts students, was quieter than normal.

"So much for Phase One of Operation Beauty and the Prongs," Cassy whispered.

"No, no, Lily hasn't seen us yet," James said. "It'll still work. You guys go set up and I'll go in and start."

He pushed everyone out of the place, each protesting against it. After he made sure they left, he walked back in and over to the bar.

Emmeline was chatting nicely with Lily, he noticed as he struck up his own conversation with Madame Rosemerta. Emmie also noticed James and continued listening to what Lily was saying.

"You know what I mean?" Lily asked.

"Completely. I really hate that about people."

Lily smiled gratefully and sipped her butterbeer.

"Um, Lily, I'll be back, okay?"

"Where are you going?"

"La salle de petites filles."

Lily nodded.

James, meanwhile, thanked Madame Rosemerta for the conversation and the butterbeer before turning away and taking a sip of his drink. He waited a few moments to make sure that Emmeline had gone and walked over to Lily.

"Hey, there, Evans!" he grinned. "The others got held up by Cassy, so I said I'd come and grab a table for us. You won't mind if we sit here, will you? I mean, we are all supposed to be spending the day together."

"No, I don't mind," she said as James sat in the chair that they both knew full well was Emmeline's.

"What's new, Evans?"

"James, we just saw each other earlier this morning," she reminded him.

"I know, but a lot could've happened since then."

Suddenly, Emmeline appeared outside and spotted James and Lily sitting together. She sent green sparks high into the air.

"It works!" she said to passersby who gave her questioning looks, and pointed happily at her wand. Inside, neither Lily nor James were aware of this.

"Emmeline did mention that she and I had been instructed to go on ahead, but this is bordering on ridiculous. When are the others ever going to get here?" Lily asked out of pure curiosity.

"You know, I'm not sure," James looked around as though expecting them to come through the door.

There was a noise like exploding fireworks somewhere nearby.

"Oh, my God! What was that?" Lily jumped.

"I don't know," he replied with equal concern, even though he knew perfectly well what it was. "Let's go see." He took Lily's hand and led her outside where a good amount of people were already gathering to see what the noise had been. There was another explosion and Lily could just make out sparks over the roof tops.

"There!" she pointed. "I can't see enough, though!"

To Lily, it seemed that James was struck by a sudden idea.

"The hill! We can see it from there!" He pulled her behind him and they raced through the crowd of Hogwarts students up the side of the hill. Distantly, Lily thought she could hear the disapproving tones of a professor, but something drove her on to follow James until they were standing atop the hill, looking for the source of the explosions. There was a high-pitched noise that sounded like something flying up through the air, and the two watched as a large fireworks display exploded over their head and rapidly faded away.

"They're only fireworks!" Lily sighed. "Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried!"

"Yeah, that's good," James agreed with a nervous smile, his hand automatically rushing up to run through his hair.

Lily gazed fondly at the spot in the sky where the fireworks had exploded before following the path they had taken back down to their likely spot of origin. "They're actually sort of—Wait. That's Cassy down there! And Sirius! Are they behind this? James, do you know something about this?"

There was yet another explosion, but this one caught Lily's eye. Under the fireworks was her name spelled out in sparkling green letters.

"Lily, don't get mad!" it told her.

She recognized Sirius's handwriting.

More followed in Cassy's writing. "James has something to tell you... Unless he has already, which he shouldn't have!"

"James, what is going on?" Lily turned back to him.

"Well, you see, Lily, I wanted some way to get your attention, and I knew that you really liked fireworks—"

"You did this to impress me?"

"Um..."

There was more writing: "Hurry up, Prongs!"

"... yes I did. And I wanted you to know that I've toned down and I'm not so… so arrogant anymore. I did it for you, too, because I knew that you would never look twice at me otherwise. So here I am, throwing away just about all of my dignity," he got down on his knees, "to ask you one last time: Lily Evans, will you go out with me?"

Cassy and Sirius let a large "Please?" up into the air.

"Please?" he asked.

From below where Remus was watching, he turned to Cassy and Sirius. "She isn't doing anything!"

"Aww, come on, Lily!" Cassy hissed and sent more into the air.

Sirius's words joined hers. "Do it and get it over with!"

"Otherwise, we'll never hear the end of it!"

"And I'll never get a good night's rest again, what with his constant moaning about it."

Lily laughed.

"Come on, Lily!" Cassy urged her.

"The guy's head-over-heels for you!"

Lily looked down at James. "Oh, you evil, evil, evil thing!"

"What?" he got to his feet.

"You planned this all out! You set it up so that I couldn't possibly say no! From the moment that you asked if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade, you really were asking if I would go with you. You were the one who made sure Cassy held everyone up, and Emmeline must have alerted the others that you found me. And you did know how much I love fireworks… Oh, you cruel, cruel man! How can I say no to you?"

"So, is that a yes?" he asked, afraid it might not be.

"Yes!" she shouted.

James picked her up and swirled her around before dipping her dramatically and kissing her. The spectators that had gathered below clapped while the friends below shouted and jumped for joy. Cassy and Sirius embraced each other in a really tight, celebratory hug before turning on Remus. Without his fireworks, the plan would've never worked.

* * *

"You know..." Cassy began, but trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face.

"What do I know?" Sirius prompted. The two friends were carrying back the crate of leftover fireworks into Hogsmeade to meet up with the others.

"That was pretty romantic of James," she mused.

"It was? Why do you say that? I thought you were a self-proclaimed cold, hard witch."

"Nah, I just say that. I'm really just a hopeless romantic," she winked.

"The untouchable Dorcas Meadowes: a hopeless romantic? You're joking!" Sirius let out one of his great laughs as they continued to joke about.

"Nope. I'll melt at the slightest... ouch." She had just banged her knee into the crate.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." She set down her part of the crate. "Why isn't Remus carrying this? It's his crate after all and—what am I saying? We can just levitate this! _Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Sirius frowned. She always switched subjects at the slightest notice, completely forgetting about the previous topic.

"Anyway..."

And then changed right back to the original topic.

"Where was I?"

"Being a hopeless romantic."

"Oh, right. Well, if James were to have done something like that for me, I would've melted right into his arms. Oh, my God, Lily!" She had spotted her friend up the street and let the crate drop to the ground in order to properly congratulate her. Sirius shook his head at her behavior, but instantly smiled handsomely when Emmeline approached him.

"You did great," he said and kissed her.

"Not so bad yourself," she kissed him back and they both stood there for a moment as some turned to stare.

"Come on guys," Remus piped up. "Let's go get something to drink. I know I'm gonna need several rounds of butterbeer to wipe that from my memory."

"I'll drink to that, mate," Peter agreed.

* * *

**Author's Note: The French that Emmeline speaks is a _very_ literal translation of "the little girl's room." Better translations for "bathroom" exist in French, but Emmeline wanted to keep it simple. Also, thanks very, very much to seirios aster for her reviews. She is a good friend, and an excellent writer herself, so I encourage you to check out what she has written as well**


	6. Of Books and of Quidditch

**Chapter 6 - Of Books and Quidditch**

Three quarters of the Quidditch stands were covered in yellow the following day at the match. The Slytherins, on the other hand, were greener than ever. Cassy thought they all resembled depressed, egocentric leprechauns. Remus remarked that saying that sort of thing was a good way land herself back in the Hospital Wing, but Cassy replied that she didn't care. The only thing that really mattered to her right then was whether or not Hufflepuff won the match. James had reckoned they would.

"After all, they're the second best team by a landslide, so they can't possibly lose unless they're playing against us, which they will be for the Cup," James said with a great deal of authority as he yanked open a bag of Honeydukes' finest Jelly Slugs.

"Oh, and how are you so sure?" Remus asked pointedly as he accepted the proffered Jelly Slug from James. "It's a new year and that means new talent."

"Well," Emmeline said over the rampant cheers in support of Hufflepuff's latest goal, "it's really all assuming that we beat Ravenclaw, then they lose to Hufflepuff, and Slytherin falls to both us and Hufflepuff. If that happens, it should be an easy year. James and I figured it out over summer. There are points involved, of course, but we're speaking generally here."

Cassy stared at her in confusion for a moment, then looked at the crowd around her, which had erupted in groans. Her confusion over Emmeline's brilliant hypothetical scenario found itself jettisoned out of her mind by a new sort of confusion. "What…? Slytherin won? Did Slytherin just win?"

The group stared in disbelief at the scene before them.

"But the game hardly lasted five minutes!" Marlene protested. "We didn't even get to eat all of James's Jelly Slugs!"

"Not to mention that Slytherin has one of the worst Seekers I've ever seen!" James exclaimed

"_Had_," came the correction from Sirius, who had been silent all this time.

"What do you mean?" James demanded.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Sirius scowled. "They got rid of that oaf they had last year. He somehow managed to graduate. They've got my brother playing for them now."

* * *

"This is bad. This is really bad. This is one of the baddest things on a whole list of bad things!" James fretted. "This just changes everything. You have to get onto the team now, Cassy. No else has as much experience or has as much talent as you. Cass…? Dorcas?"

She was standing over by the bulletin board with Marlene. "Oh, this is good. This is really good. This is one of the goodest things on a whole list of good things!"

"She heard you, James, but I don't think she's as stressed about it as you are," Lily informed. "I mean, after all, it is just a Quidditch match. Don't worry. If we face Slytherin, well beat them."

"Wait, wait, wait," James looked her straight in the eye. "_Just_ a Quidditch match? Just a _Quidditch match_? Lily, it's our last year here; we have to win the Cup!"

"But James, it's only a game. Besides, Gryffindor has won the Cup every year that you've been on the team. Would it really be so bad if, say, Ravenclaw won for a change?"

"But Lilykins—"

"James..."

"Cassy!" Cassy exclaimed.

The couple turned to look at the blonde with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Halloween Ball's just been announced! End of the month, obvi, but I can't wait. This is _fantastique_! Anyway, you wanted to talk to me, Jimbo?"

He visibly flinched at the nickname. "You're trying out on Wednesday, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, but you're going to the ball, okay?"

"Cassy, I'm not joking."

"Okay, I understand," she stressed soothingly and crossed her arms across her chest to demonstrate that she was being serious.

Across the room, Remus, Sirius and Emmeline were busy discussing the same topic that had Cassy about ready to bounce off the walls.

"So, I take it you two will be going together?" Remus asked, though he hardly needed to.

"Of course," Sirius replied matter-of-factly and kissed Emmeline on her cheek.

"Sirius, you haven't even asked me yet!" she protested.

"Do I have to? I mean, you weren't planning on going with anyone else, were you?"

"No."

"Then it's settled." He tried to kiss her again, but she pushed his face away.

"What about you, Remus? Who will you go with?" she asked.

"Yeah, what about you, Moony?" Sirius asked, now distracted from trying to snog his girlfriend. "Got anybody in mind?"

Remus watched Sirius grinning at him for a moment before replying. "I dunno," he shrugged. "Maybe Cassy'd go with me."

"Do you like her?"

"Of course I do. It's sort of impossible to not be friends with her, wouldn't you say?" he replied and cocked his head to the side, clearly missing the meaning of his friend's question.

Sirius shook his head. "No, no, mate. You're not translating properly. You're still in Moony-speak. I need you to be speaking Padfoot-speak. _Do you like her_?"

"No, well, it's Cassy, isn't it? I don't _like _her."

"Well, do you think she'd go?"

"I dunno; why are you drilling me?" Remus wondered. He turned around suddenly and shouted, "Hey, Cass!"

"Yep?" she shouted back, more than willing to turn away from her conversation with James.

"Wanna go to the Halloween Ball with me?"

He watched her think for a moment. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

Remus was grinning when he turned back to Sirius. "That was easy."

"That was lucky," corrected a nearly jealous Sirius Black.

* * *

Sirius Black could not find Emmeline Vance. And in his mind, this created a very, very grave problem.

There were three activities that consumed so much of his free time at Hogwarts: homework, pranks with the Marauders, and quality time with his girlfriend. For each activity, there was a reason for which he could not engage in it. It was far too early in the afternoon to begin pondering the pile of homework McGonagall had assigned—not that Sirius actively pondered homework, but the concept did infiltrate his thoughts every so often—and so homework was out of the question. Lately, James had been spending so much time doing… whatever it was he did with Lily, Remus had become nearly obsessed with tutoring Cassy that he spent nearly every afternoon studying with her, and Peter had taken to disappearing just when Sirius wanted to talk to him. And it was just so boring trying to carry out any pranks on one's own. And now, his girlfriend was nowhere to be found, which meant quality time with the girlfriend would be impossible. What on Earth was this young man to do? Well, he supposed he could take a walk, stretch his legs; it wasn't such a terrible idea.

Dorcas Meadowes, meanwhile, was very, very frustrated. She had been working on the design for her Halloween costume for the past hour and a half, and at this point she was beginning to doubt her ability to draw at all. She had come up with at least seven different costumes concepts, but none of them had looked remotely like what she had planned when she finally put them down on the page. She had briefly considered conjuring a dress form and just building each costume from scratch without only the image in her head as a guide, but that took time, and Cassy was much too lazy to spend any more time on a project that was already beginning to make her doubt her artistic abilities. Thus, since her only other viable option for this fine afternoon was to take a walk (the thought of homework so early in the day likewise horrified her), she went traipsing around the castle.

Two such restless souls out of the entire student body of Hogwarts were bound to run into one another. And run into one another they did.

"Dorcas Jane Meadowes!" Sirius called pleasantly as soon as he caught sight of the young blonde. She turned about as he jogged forward to catch up with her. "What are you doing on the seventh floor?"

"And what are you doing without your normal posse of Gryffindors, girlfriends, and creepy followers?" she queried with a grin on her face.

"Hush, you," he replied hastily, but could not keep the corners of his mouth from upturning playfully. "They might hear you and, at any moment, come charging around that corner."

"How terrifying," Cassy noted delightfully. She hooked her arm through Sirius's. "How deliciously frightening."

Sirius smiled in a way that no one else could as he patted her arm fondly. "You know, Dorcas, it is good to have you around. I don't think you realize how worried we were when… you know. But look at you now, all back to normal and everything and making fun of me. It's bloody terrific."

Cassy seemed to consider his words very carefully for a moment before she came to a complete halt and yanked on Sirius's arm so roughly that he not only stopped walking himself, but tumbled backward and nearly crashed into Cassy.

"Merlin's sequined knickers!" she exclaimed with a light in her eyes. "I forgot to tell you!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"

"Well, that's the problem. I forgot what it was I was supposed to tell you," she sighed and knitted her brows. "But it was something witty and brilliant, and you were going to laugh all the way to the Forbidden Forest about this one." She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently as she explored her brain for the witty and brilliant information she was meant to share with Sirius. As she pondered all the information her brain had to offer, she paced back and forth once, twice, thrice as Sirius looked on with mild amusement.

A noise much like the moving of the staircases alerted the pair that something rather interesting was going on in the wall behind them. A further gander at the wall revealed a door where there had not been one moments before. Cassy ventured a questioning look in Sirius's direction; he shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"Care to take a look inside?" he asked after the pair had spent another minute or so gendering at the magical door.

"I think that would satisfy my curiosity most wonderfully," she nodded and pushed the door open.

Sirius's eyes widened as he stepped in behind Cassy and tried to mentally calculate how many books were in the room that appeared before them. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, aisles fixed so closely together that even Remus would have a difficult time squeezing past… this was possibly the most impressive collection of books Sirius had seen—and he had seen some noteworthy collections in his seventeen years. Tentatively, he stepped near the closest shelf of books and peered at its contents. He read the title _The Magician's Nephew_ by one C.S. Lewis and was suddenly rather confused; his knowledge of wizarding literature (for that's what this book appeared to be) was extensive, and yet neither the title nor the author rang even the tiniest of bells in his head. His curiosity got the better of him and he pulled the book from the shelf.

"Cassy, I think this is a Muggle book," he said after a moment. "What's a Muggle book doing in a secret room at Hogwarts?"

She stuck her head around a large stack of precariously balanced books. "What, now?"

"This isn't about our world. This _Magician's Nephew_ book is not about any magicians I've ever heard of."

"Well, of course not," she replied as though his revelation was, in fact, commonplace knowledge. "It's about Narnia. I'm partial to the books with Prince Caspian, myself. They come later in the series."

Sirius replaced the book on the shelf. "What's Narnia?"

"It's the world in those books. It's nothing like our world. I heard it's an allegory for Christianity, actually. I just like the sword-fighting, to be honest."

He let his gaze travel about the room, sensing that he was well out of league with this topic of conversation. He decided to tackle another question that was nagging his brain. "What is this place exactly?"

"You mean, you've never seen it before?"

Sirius shook his head, which, he realized, was a silly thing to do because Cassy was back hidden behind the books again and could not see him. "I've never known there to be a secret cache of books on the seventh floor. I always thought there was a rather spacious broom closet up here that Filch doesn't seem to know about, actually."

His friend's amused cackle came behind the next row of books over. "Is that where you take all your girlfriends, then?"

"No. Well, perhaps once in a while… You think I'm a better boyfriend than that, don't you, Meadowes?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting in concern.

"Of course I do, Sirius. I just like to poke fun." He could hear the smile in her voice. The corner of his mouth twitched up as he appreciated that he could recognize when Cassy smiled, even when he could not see her.

"Any theories as to this room, then?" he inquired, shifting back to the more important matter at hand.

"I'm not certain… but I do know that I've read all of the books here. Well, I've read all of the titles that I've looked at thus far."

Sirius attempted to mentally calculate the number of books again before deciding that it was not worth wasting the brainpower on. There were many, many volumes here. "You've read all of these?"

"You sound as though you've never seen me read anything in my life. I used to read all the time when I was younger. This was before I wrote much at all. There are some I haven't read all the way, though," she added and stepped out from the thicket of bound paper, carrying a large tattered volume that Sirius did recognize now that he looked at it. "I mean, this was a book that we used for our Transfiguration project last year. You remember that, I'm certain. And I definitely didn't go mad and decide that reading this monster would be fun. I'm more likely to attack my own eye with a spork than read this for fun." She deposited the volume on top of a conveniently close pile. A second later, the pile toppled over. Cassy cursed. Instantly, Sirius crouched down to help her gather up the books.

"Why do you think you've read all the books in here?" he wondered as they grabbed the final few books on the floor.

"I'm not certain," she admitted, "but I do know that I was wishing I could see all of the books I'd ever looked at because I was certain what I'd forgotten to tell you was in one of those books. And then this room appeared. You don't think that this room gives people what they need, do you?"

"I've heard of a room like that. The Room of Requirement, it's called. James and I could never find it—probably because we didn't know how to look for it. Mind you, James had only heard about it through an uncle of his, and I've only heard about it through James. Do you think we've found it?" The well-known impish twinkle lit up in Sirius's eyes.

Cassy chuckled. "That might explain your unknown broom closet."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," he nodded. "Should we tell James about this?"

"Are you mad? This is much too excellent to share with anyone!" the young blonde exclaimed, but when she noticed that Sirius looked mildly crestfallen, she added, "But, I suppose, the Marauders might deserve to know. What do you say we get going? This room does sort of make me shiver. How can it know what you need?"

Sirius acquiesced and followed Cassy out of the room. As soon as the door was shut behind him, she whirled around excitedly.

"I remember what it was that I was supposed to tell you!" she danced in front of him. "Oh, but you're not going to like it."

"What is it?" he demanded, sticking his hands into his robe pockets.

"Well, about that day in Diagon Alley, when you almost burned the street down—"

"When did I do that?"

"No, I was just afraid you were going to do that," Cassy corrected herself. "What I mean to say is that day when we ran into your brother—"

"What about it?" he said with a preemptive snarl.

"Your brother Reggie wanted me to pass on a message from his mother dearest. He said that they wanted to take the things down from your walls, and they couldn't. They wanted you to tell them how to get them off."

Much to Cassy's surprise, Sirius's bark-like laugh rang throughout the hallway with much gusto. He held one arm to his stomach as though it hurt to laugh so much.

"That's the most bloody fantastic thing I've heard all month!" he said through gasps of air. "To think that none of them can get my things down! Imagine: even for all their love of the Dark Arts, the Gryffindor flag will forever be fixed to the walls of the Black Manor! Oh, Cassy, that is too good to be true."

Cassy found herself wondering if her friend had perhaps finally lost it.

"This day just keeps getting better and better. First, the Room of Requirement, and now, this! Cassy, you're incredible! I need to spend more time with you. You keep giving me better and better news as the weeks pass," he declared now that he had himself more under control.

"Even when I'm lying unconscious in a bed in the hospital wing?" she reminded him.

His mood shifted a few shades darker. "No, well, no. You—we were terribly worried about you, Dorcas." He leaned back against the wall. "We hadn't the slightest idea as to whether we were going to see you walking around again. It was… well, I suppose 'terrifying' is the word that best fits this situation. To think that I might never—that _we_ might never—see you smile again. I don't think… I mean, none of us… it was a very hard time, and I'm glad to have you back."

Impulsively, Cassy reached out and hugged Sirius. "I promise I'll never, ever get hexed ever again! I promise, I promise, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die!"

She was glad to feel his chest rumble with laughter as he returned her hug. "Very well. And I'll hold you to your word."

* * *

Cassy was tired of her homework. Her walk with Sirius, while it had passed a good chunk of time, had done nothing to lessen the pile of homework that was sitting on her bed waiting for her. And four hours of homework later, she was ready to chuck her Transfiguration text from her window with a primeval cry of triumph. She was also ready to make sure that none of her friends expressed any more concerns over her like Sirius earlier. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, she put on her best and truest smile and went down to the Common Room, where Remus was hard at work, sitting on his favorite couch by the fireplace. It was time to talk about something fun.

"So, Remus… what were you thinking about wearing as a costume for the ball? We should try and match, you know," she sidled up to him on the couch.

"Yes, I do know," he answered and set his quill down precisely underneath his most recent line of written text. "But I haven't thought about it. You're the creative genius; you should come up with something. I'm terrible at these sorts of things."

"Well, I was thinking about French Renaissance or pre-Revolution with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI," she noted hurriedly now that Remus had all but given her permission to design their costumes. "Or, perhaps, _A Midsummer's Night Dream_. You know, some sort of fantasy or royal theme. Something pretty," she explained and waved her hands about elegantly to emphasize her point.

Remus smirked and looked sideways at his friend. "As you wish."

"Then you can expect something amazing!" she grinned and leaned over onto Remus's shoulder to look at what he was writing. She yawned. "Potions?"

"Yes. Have you done it yet?"

"Yup. Finished it last night." She snuggled closer.

Remus shifted slightly, not sure how to react to her sudden closeness. He wondered briefly if she was attracted to him, but swatted the impossible thought. "Cassy, are you feeling alright?"

"I don't think my brain appreciates these extended amounts of time spent studying. Makes me want to curl up next to other friends who are being productive, and fall asleep."

He laughed.

"What about you? You've been tired lately. And don't think I haven't noticed. Yawning during our study sessions like they bore you to tears? Well, maybe they do, but somehow I don't think you could possibly be that mean."

"I haven't been sleeping well lately. That's all."

"Why?"

"I guess I'm just worried…"

"About…?"

"You, the guys, the world in general… Take your pick."

"Aww, you're so sweet."

"Well, that may be, but currently, my arm is falling asleep."

"Oh! I'm sorry," she got up. "Didn't mean for that to happen… Anyway, don't worry about the costumes; I'll take care of it. I'll make them beautiful. And don't worry about me, either! I'm doing just fine. And I promised Sirius that I would never, ever get hexed ever again, so I'm definitely on my way to beating you lot at your own game. Oh, and the Quidditch position? It's in the bag! I'm ready for tryouts!"

"I have faith in you!" he saluted.

Across the room, James watched Cassy walk away and, when she was gone, walked over and vaulted himself over the back of the couch.

"You two are getting awfully close," he chided. "Maybe you should tell her."

"Tell her _what_?" Remus could think of two things, neither of which he wanted to tell her now.

"You know… Arrroooo!" James howled quietly.

"She doesn't need to know. And you can stop making those noises around me and referring to my condition as my 'furry little problem'… at this rate, the entire school will find out, if Snape hasn't already told all of the Slytherins. I don't think it would aid our friendship, anyway, if Cassy knew." Remus's paranoia was beginning to get the better of him.

"Yeah, but you don't know. We didn't leave you when we found out. For the most part, she's oblivious to it, but she still notices how awful you are around the full moon. And if anything, Cassy's more forgiving than either me or Sirius. Lily knows about you," James added helpfully.

"About _me_?"

"Figured it out about a year ago."

"Oh, God… Are you sure Snape didn't tell her?"

James scowled. "If he ever tells anyone your secret, it'll be the last secret he tells. I think you know well enough to realize that we would all know if Snivellus had told anyone about you."

"Well, I'll think about it."

"Good. Oh, and you spelled 'fluctuations' wrong," James pointed out in Remus's essay.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not. _I'm_ the good speller here, remember?"

"Yes, well, as long as _I'm_ still the good Quidditch player-"

"What does spelling matter?" Remus supplied.

"Pretty much."

"You're an idiot."

James grinned idiotically.

* * *

"Okay, Cassy, I'm letting out one of the Bludgers! Look sharp!" James shouted up to her.

She watched the dangerous black ball hurtle out into the sky and steadied her grip on her Cleansweep Five. She raised her bat and waited a moment before she sent it crashing into the oncoming Bludger. She could almost imagine writing a story about this later on as she watched the Bludger, satisfied to see it go through one of the goal posts where she had been told to aim. This was easy. Why hadn't she tried out before?

"Here comes the second one!" James called.

She watched the new ball soar up as she tried to keep an eye on the previous one. And the worry began to grow. Ah, yes, this was why she hadn't tried out before.

She shot straight upward at the last moment so that the balls collided with one another. She swooped back down on them, hitting one to the center goal post, and the other to the goal post to the right of it. The first one hit its mark, while the other one just barely missed its own.

"That's good, Cassy! Now hold on; I'm sending Emmeline up!"

Cassy slowed her broom and watched Emmeline fly out at James's command before jumping back into things to beat away a Bludger aiming for Emmeline as well as the one aiming for herself.

On the ground, Sirius watched as Cassy made some more saves, with Emmeline purposefully acting as an easy target. He noticed that she had very good arms and pointed this out to James. "She's also surprisingly strong… and focused."

"I know. She doesn't look it normally, but she's got great upper body strength."

They watched her for a few more minutes as she grappled with the Bludgers. She did exceptionally well, except for one time when Emmeline was forced to narrowly dodge one of the balls because Cassy had had her eyes on the other. When she was called back down and the Bludgers were put into their box once again, James winked at her as Emmeline confided that she felt Cassy had been the best to try out so far.

She therefore watched the last two competitors with about as much enthusiasm as a lazy child has when it comes to running a mile for a physical education course. She was also hardly surprised when James announced that she had made it onto the team.

* * *

"Okay, I know they said they wanted to celebrate you making it onto the team - congratulations, by the way - but they've been gone a good while, haven't they?" Lily pointed out.

Emmeline looked up from where she was sprawled out on her bed, reading a defensive spell book, and nodded.

Cassy, who was feeling rather ambivalent about the celebration because it involved no gifts to speak of, replied, "It seems to me that you need to keep a better eye on your boyfriends."

"Hey!" the other two exclaimed.

Marlene burst into the room then with a grin covering the bottom of her pretty face. "They're back!"

"Finally!" Cassy sighed. "I was about ready to go to sleep."

The four walked downstairs to see the boys as well as the other members of the Quidditch team gathered in the Common Room. Everyone else had either left of their own accord or had been shooed out by Remus and Peter.

"Ooh, cookies!" Cassy noticed on the coffee table that was now littered with treats for the ordeal.

James and Sirius passed out butterbeers to all present from a small horde they had somehow acquired that was now sitting by the fire along with a few bottles of what Cassy suspected to be firewhiskey.

Someone was going to get stewed, she thought.

Cassy did not have a mind for alcohol. Partially because of her mother and partially because of the horrible taste she knew it had, Cassy had decided long ago to that she would never personally touch alcohol.

She openly frowned when Remus picked up one of the bottles.

"To the newest member of the Gryffindor team: May your broom be swift, may your batting arm be strong, and may your balls, er, Bludgers, be plentiful."

There was a murmur of approval and a few titters of laughter before each raised their drink to the toast. Cassy beamed and found she was able to forgive Remus once she saw him set the firewhiskey down after the toast. She gathered her share of the treats from the "buffet" and walked over to Marlene.

"Please tell me you want some. I've realized that I don't think it's possible to stuff this much sugar into one person's body," she announced.

Marlene laughed and set down her butterbeer. "Sure. How much do you want me to take?"

Cassy dropped the pile onto a table and they sorted it, each taking what they liked most.

"Oh, caramel clusters!" Marlene picked up a small form wrapped in orange. "Sirius loves these, only they're really hard to find!"

"Really? I'll give it to him, then," Cassy offered and picked the piece out of her friend's open hand.

She walked over to a cozy chair where he and Emmeline were seemingly glued at the mouth with her on his lap and his hand nearly halfway up the back of her shirt. Repugnant. To the surprise of both her friends, she yanked his arm out of Emmeline's shirt, placed the candy not-so-gently into his hand, closed his hand, and walked away. Still a bit shocked, Sirius looked down at the vividly wrapped object and let out a yelp of excitement, like a young child with a new toy, when he realized what it was. He eagerly opened it and stuffed it into his mouth, which set Emmeline off laughing.

"Thanks, Cassy!" he said through a mouthful of caramel.

She waved an arm in reply, but didn't turn to acknowledge him.

"I hate it when he does that!" she told Marlene.

"What? Thanks you?" She took a bite of a Chocolate Frog.

"No, blatantly snogs whatever girl he's shagging at the moment in front of everyone like he's got something to show!"

"Aw, come on, Dors," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "It's a celebration. They probably just got caught in the heat of the moment. And since when have you ever cared what Sirius does with whichever girl he's dating?"

"Whatever," she replied dismissively. "Let's go and eat this stuff somewhere else."

"But shouldn't you stick around? It's all in your honor."

"So?"

Marlene smiled and for the rest of the party, they sat up on the balcony in front of the girls' dormitory.

* * *

**AN: So, I was doing a bit of research and came across the fact that the Marauders never included the Room of Requirement on the Marauder's Map (except in the film... the seventh floor corridor is included there), likely because they didn't know about it themselves or because it was Unplottable. Well, I thought it might be fun to plan around with that idea. What if they discovered it after they made the map and just neglected to add it to the map? Or maybe now that Sirius knows about it, they will try to add it to the map? It's a possibility. I am having waaaaay too much fun getting back into the groove of things and researching the wizarding world.**

**P.S. Review are lovely and inspire me to keep on writing. Please review!**


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